The Soldier and the Bride
by vendetta543
Summary: Ichika Orimura went with his older sister Chifuyu to Germany. There he meets a silver haired girl who's quite a bit different from everybody else. Expansion of Laura's story from "Daydreams of Maiden's in love".
1. Chapter 1

**~o.O.o~**

Laura Bodewig was a Maiden in Love.

The fact that this sentence could be said at all was a miracle in and of itself, at least when it came to this girl.

Don't believe me? Then listen to her story.

**~o.O.o~**

The Military base wasn't the friendliest place in the world. Covered in endless fields of green and barbed wire fences, it gave off feelings of desolation and despair.

The few buildings there were used for practical purposes only. Living areas, an office, and a shooting range for training. Each one was essential to a small outpost such as this.

The only inhabitant of the area was a woman in a black military uniform and some others, presumably military officers.

The woman in the dark uniform paced left and right in a strict, brisk manner. Her gait giving away her years of military experience, "Attention Shwarzer Hase recruits!" She stopped and turned to the crowd of soldiers sitting in front of her.

The crowd around her was abnormal to say the least. They weren't the strong rugged men with years of military experience showing on their face. No, these were children and teenagers, all ranging from as young as 12 to as old as 16.

The other odd thing; they were all females.

All of them stood up before saluting to her, "Yes Lieutenant Clarissa!" Their tone was as strict as hers, as if they had faced danger all their lives.

Clarissa nodded before continuing, "We will do our usual test; One round around the obstacle field." She looked at each of them in the eye, daring them to complain.

With suppressed groans, they made their way to the obstacle field to prepare for the days training (torture).

**30 minutes later**

Various amounts of people were scattered over the sandy field. Some were trapped under heavy walls of rope, others were trapped in deep pits. The training was too harsh for them.

All except one.

A 14 year old girl stood there with nary a scratch on her, her silver hair glinting in the sunlight.

"Good job Bodewig." Clarissa smiled and patted her on the back.

A small smile made it's way onto her face, "Thank you instructor." She replied with a hint of pride in her voice.

It was always the same. This small, fragile looking girl always finished the tests flawlessly. She was the pride of the unit and everybody's ideal.

"Everyone take a shower, you all need it." Clarissa turned away from them and made her way back to the small office.

The various people made their way to the building containing the showers, rubbing the bruises and injuries they received from the earlier training exercise.

"Nice one Laura."

"Great as always."

Various people congratulated her on the way to the building. Jealousy wasn't a problem, when it came to the unit only weakness was seen as a cause of negative attention.

Laura smiled at all the praise she was receiving. This was par for the norm for her, being the best soldier in the group had its bragging rights.

She took a shower before going to sleep on the small bunk bed. Tomorrow was going to be the same as always

Or so she thought.

**~o.O.o~**

Clarissa walked into the living area near daybreak, everyone was still sleeping soundly in bed, most likely tired from the training (torture) from yesterday. She smirked and placed the whistle up to her lips.

***FWEEEEEEEEEEEP***

The entire barracks shook as all of the young soldiers woke up. Most of them fell of their beds and ended up in heaps on the floor.

"I trust everyone here had a good sleep?" She laughed inwardly at the various states of the group, "I'm here to introduce someone."

Everyone immediately straightened up after they heard her. A new person at the base was rare, scratch that, it was probably the only thing new that happened in the past few month's they'd been here.

"I see I've got your attention." She looked at the curious faces of all the girls in the bunk before continuing, "You will be having a new instructor starting today."

Everyone immediately began murmuring amongst each other before Clarissa held up her hand to silence them, "She will be here for one year only. It's only to pay back a favor." Their faces deflated once again after they heard this.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll like the course she'll be teaching." Everyone was confused but she paid it no heed as she motioned towards the door.

A woman came into the room. She looked to be in her early 20's, her long black hair was tied into a ponytail and she was dressed in a gray jogging outfit, not very odd for an instructor to wear in a military base.

She turned to them and they noticed her features were of Japanese descent, they didn't have time to observe more before she introduced herself, "My name is Chifuyu Orimura, I will be teaching you for one year here." She bowed afterwards in a show of respect.

All of the Shwarzer Hase members were trained in gauging how dangerous a person was from sight alone. Mannerisms, way of talking, posture and many other factors helped them determine how much of a potential threat an individual could be.

Chifuyu walked up to one of the older members, about 15 years old, and offered her hand to shake, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

The girl struggled to raise her arms before managing to clasp Chifuyu's hand on hers, "I-It's a p-pleasure to meet you." She stuttered out nervously.

All of them could tell from the moment she introduced herself; they could attack her all at once and she'd be able to beat them with her eyes closed.

"Hey Chifuyu, where's the kid?" Clarissa suddenly asked.

"Oh right." Chifuyu let go of the recruit's hand (much to her relief) and went out of the room again.

All the recruits wondered what was going to happen before noises of an argument began to emanate from outside.

"Come on Ichika, they're not going to chew your head off!" Chifuyu's voice echoed throughout the room.

The reply was the one that shocked them more though, "You didn't say they were all girls! I thought you were going to teach people some military stuff!" The voice that replied was undoubtedly male.

"Teaching them about IS piloting counts as military. Now quit complaining and go in already!"

Chifuyu walked back into the room, this time she was dragging along an unwilling boy of about 14 years of age.

"Go introduce yourself!" She pushed him forward and he stumbled before straightening himself up again.

He looked around nervously and took a deep breath before introducing himself, "M-My name is Orimura Ichika, i-it's nice to meet you!" He bowed as well.

His features would be considered handsome to most; short black hair that stopped just above his neck and an average, slightly muscular frame. The face closely resembled that of his sister and added to his overall "pretty boy" feel.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Most of the members were frozen in shock. It was the first time for some of them to see someone close to their age. All the men they've interacted with were always about twice their age.

Clarissa laughed inwardly again at their reaction, "One of you will be in charge of showing him around and helping him settle in." She knew what was going to happen.

"Pick me!"

"No, pick me! I've been here the longest!"

Everyone was scrambling for the chance to get the position. Curiosity could make one act foolishly no matter the situation.

Clarissa looked past the excited girls and saw the only figure who wasn't acting like an energetic monkey, "Laura, you're in charge of him."

"Understood." Laura nodded her head but didn't say anything more. She wasn't interested in him. She was just going to do it to follow orders.

**~o.O.o~**

Laura took her job seriously, like she always did, and immediately grabbed Ichika in order to take him on the tour of the surrounding area.

"That's the firing range. We use it to test weapon fire and practice." She pointed to the small building where the Shwarzer Hase would practice with each other and have competitions in their free time.

"Um...Miss Laura-"

Not letting him get a word in, she continued her impromptu tour, "That's the obstacle course. It's what we use for training on most days." She pointed to the small obstacle course where they had their training (torture) yesterday.

"Miss Laur-" He tried to interrupt her again.

Cutting him off yet again, she gestured to the last building. "That's the command office, it's where lieutenant Clarissa receives orders from the base." The building was the smallest and looked like it could only house a few people at a time.

She turned towards him, "Do you understand everything?" He could only nod his head absently. It wasn't like talking had gotten him anything so far.

"Good." She was about to leave and go back to the barracks (she considered her job finished.) but Ichika grabbed her by the shoulder, turning her around.

Big mistake.

With a fluid movement, Laura grabbed his hand and pinned it against his back. She could have broken his arm if she wanted to at this point.

Ignoring his pained cries, she continued as if she wasn't potentially crippling him "What is it?" She was annoyed right now. She was the only one who didn't want to get saddled with this job.

"Can you show me the firing range? It sounds interesting." Ichika's voice was strained but he managed to answer.

Laura thought about it for a bit (never letting go of his arm, much to his discomfort.) before she let go and led him to the firing range. What's the harm?

The two of them walked to the small building. Ichika was rubbing his arm in order to ease the pain.

"We're here."

The interior of the building was bigger than the exterior let on. The walls were silver in color and the sound of automated machinery echoed all around them.

Ichika looked around the building in awe. It was obviously the first time he'd been somewhere like this, "Amazing~! Everything looks so high tech!" He looked around like a kid in a candy store.

Laura smiled a bit when she saw his actions. It reminded her of some of the other recruits first reactions when they first got to the base (Till they experienced their first tortu- TRAINING session).

"There are over 50 guns so far ranging from simple pistols to complex rifles." She gestured towards the racks of weapons on the wall. "Each of which possesses their own strengths and weaknesses."

Ichika nodded absently at her lecture, too engrossed at looking at the guns on the wall to pay any actual attention to her words.

"Can I use one?"

Laura's answer was immediate, "No." Her tone indicated it was final.

Ichika wouldn't give up though, "C'mon~ I'll be really careful!" He was on his knees begging.

Laura wouldn't give in, "No means no! I'll get in trouble if you end up getting shot in the ass or something!" She folded her arms over her chest to indicate she was serious.

Ichika did his last resort. The move that no one, not even Chifuyu, could resist, "Please~ I'll be really careful~" He stuck out his lips in a small pout and put on some crocodile tears. Yes, it was the only thing no person could resist.

The puppy dog eyes.

"Ngh!" Laura blushed slightly and looked away from him. That was the first time she'd ever seen an expression like that and she thought it looked...cute.

'_No! No! No! Don't fall for it!' _She thought frantically. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of looking at him again.

"Please~" He was still using the same expression as before.

"...Fine." Laura slumped down in defeat. That was a truly formidable weapon no person could resist.

Ichika smiled and rushed to the rack before picking up one of the biggest rifles he could find.

Alarm bells rung in Laura's head and she immediately rushed towards the excited (Suicidal in her own words) young man and took the gun way.

"Are you crazy!" She was nearly yelling at this point. Even a trained soldier would break if they had to deal with someone like him. "I said you could use one, not kill yourself with one!" She placed the rifle back onto the rack and picked up a small pistol and placed it on his open palms.

"A pistol?" He gave her a questioning look. Laura resisted the urge to bang her head against the wall. Her self-control was running thin.

"Yes, a pistol. Did you think I would allow you to use whatever gun you wanted? Don't answer that." She quickly added at the end.

Ichika shrugged and made his way to the firing range to take his first shot. He stood still, raised his arms, aimed down the sight, and took a deep breath before pulling the trigger as the target passed.

***BANG***

The bullet flew through the air...and landed nowhere near what the target was.

'_Wh-What was that? He looked like he was going to do it perfectly!' _Laura thought in disbelief.

"Um, Miss Laura...can you please help me?" He gave her the puppy dog eyes again.

Laura felt nervous for some reason but she refused to let it get to her, "A-Alright." She made her way behind him and held his hand in hers to help him adjust the grip.

"First, you make sure that you have a good grip." She positioned his hands in the correct manner, "Then, you aim down the sights and make sure the target is in position." Ichika looked down the sights once again, "Now, make sure to keep your arms straight to lessen the recoil." Both of them straightened their arms. "Now fire" They pulled the trigger.

***BANG***

The bullet landed right in the center of the target.

"I did it!" he turned towards her and held her hand in excitement. "Thanks Miss Laura!" He was practically beaming with joy.

"Just call me Laura...we're the same age right?" She looked away nervously at the hand contact.

"Okay then. Thanks Laura!"

Laura's face flushed even more and she shook her head left and right to get rid of the incoming redness. She was a soldier she reasoned to herself, not some love struck schoolgirl.

"Can I try again?" Ichika asked.

"Alright, let's do it the same as before." She walked behind Ichika and placed his hand in hers again. She hoped he didn't notice the redness on her cheeks.

**~o.O.o~**

Hours later, the two made their way back to the bunker since it was getting late. Neither of them noticed how much time passed until they saw the darkness coming from the window.

"Thanks for helping me Laura." Ichika was walking side by side with Laura, stretching his arms behind his back idly. "It was fun!"

"...No problem." Laura refused to make eye contact with him and kept her stare focused on the ground in front of her.

The two of them walked in silence for a few minutes until they reached the building where they would sleep.

"So...where will I sleep Laura?" Ichika questioned her.

Now that she though of it, she didn't know either. "I don't know, let me check." She left him at the door and went to the Clarissa's office.

***tap tap tap***

"Come in."

Laura entered the room and saw Clarissa sitting at a table across from Chifuyu. A bottle of wine and two glasses was all that occupied the small table, making it obvious what the two were just doing.

"Lieutenant." Laura saluted despite this before asking her question, "Ichika would like to know where he will stay for the night."

Clarissa looked at Chifuyu with a smirk on her face (uh-oh) before she turned back to Laura, "I thought that'd be obvious."

Laura titled her head in confusion, "Obvious ma'am? Is there a room I'm supposed to place him in?"

Clarissa shook her head left and right, the smirk never leaving her face, "I placed him under your jurisdiction, right?" Laura just nodded "Then that should be obvious." She took another sip of her wine before continuing, "He'll be sleeping with you."

"W-What!" Laura, for the first time, couldn't keep her composure, "B-But he's-"

This time, Chifuyu interrupted her, "What's wrong? You were the only one who wasn't scrambling earlier to get closer to him. Did something change?" She asked in an "I know something happened" voice.

"N-No...nothing happened." Laura would rather die than tell them about what happened at the firing range, "I'll be going back then." Laura left the room as quickly as her legs could take her.

Waiting till her footsteps stopped, the two women opened the security console and looked at the video playing again.

"**Just call me Laura...we're the same age right?"**

"**Okay then. Thanks Laura!"**

The two of them laughed again as they took another drink, it was all going according to plan.

**~o.O.o~**

When Laura came back she found Ichika sleeping on the ground next to the door. He must've been more tired than he let on.

"Ichika, wake up." She shook him gently but he refused to wake up.

"5 more minutes, I don't wanna go to school yet." He mumbled softly before going back to sleep.

Laura sighed softly. This idiot had been causing trouble for her the entire day and, oddly enough, she didn't really mind it. She actually had...fun.

As she looked at his face, she saw his lips were parted slightly, inviting her to take them in hers. She was tempted to lean in and-

'_WAAAAAAAH!' _Realizing what she was about to do, she promptly did what any girl in her situation would do: Run around like a headless chicken.

'_What's wrong with me! Am I sick? Did I get injured and receive a mental illness?'_ She thought in a panic.

The answer was simple. Any person could see this young girl was experiencing the one thing that would change her forever.

She was falling in love.

'_No, no, no! You are a trained soldier! You do not act like some love sick girl...not that I love him or anything! No...of course not!'_

She knew the truth though: She was slowly but surely falling in love with Ichika Orimura.


	2. Chapter 2

**~o.O.o~**

At a certain base in the country of Germany, a maiden was receiving the revelation that would change her life forever.

Laura paced back and forth as she tried to stifle her growing panic at what was happening. "Okay, just calm down Laura, you are a strong soldier and the pride of your unit. You're not falling in l-l-love with this-this..." She couldn't even finish her sentence.

_**'Perfect example of manhood?'**_ A voice echoed from inside her head, mocking her inability to fully deny her feelings for the first time in her life.

"Shut up!" She yelled out to no one.

_**'Kiss him already! He won't find out, he's sleeping!'**_ The voice tried to urge her.

"B-But-" Laura didn't know what to do: Kiss him and risk him finding out or hold it in and lose her chance? Truly, a riddle for the century had been formed here.

_**'Look at those soft lips and that cute sleeping face, you know you want to~'**_ The voice once again spoke out in a sing-song manner, making her will to resist weaker and weaker.

With a blushing face, Laura leaned in and placed her face closer to his. A slight movement would be enough for the two of them to-

"NOOOOOO~!" With a loud yell, Laura suddenly backed away as she realized what she was about to do.

Laura was past the first stage of panicking and was moving onto the second stage: Denial.

Miraculously, while this was happening, the boy in question remained in his sleep and didn't even seem to acknowledge the earth shattering (to her) event that was happening right in front of him.

Laura panicked even more and tried calm herself down. She was going to lose her sanity at this rate if he didn't stop being so cu- making her panic! No, she did not think he was cute!

With a deep breath, Laura once again tried to wake up the adorabl- stupid! She meant stupid young man! "Ichika, wake up, we have to go back already." She shook his shoulder but there was no response from the sleeping teen.

Laura sighed and grabbed his shoulder before draping it over hers in a fireman's hold and started to drag him into the inside of the small living area. He was larger than her slightly but her strength was enough for her to successfully carry him inside.

"Hello, is anyone around?" She looked around the area and found that it was pitch black with no signs of movement anywhere. It looks like everyone had gone to sleep.

With another sigh, Laura carefully maneuvered to her bed, using her trained vision to see any obstacles that may have lay on the ground before finally making it to her personal bed.

'_Finally!'_ Laura thought as the thought of sleep crossed her mind. Now, all she needed to do was set Ichika down and she could finally go to sleep. Simple right?

Wrong...

Laura gently sat on the bed and tried to remove the arm encircling her small neck so both of them could go to sleep.

Ichika stirred slightly as Laura tried to remove his arm and suddenly placed his other arm around her, trapping her in his embrace. "Mmmm~ Teddy bear..." He mumbled softly as he rubbed his face against hers.

"I-I'm not a teddy bear!" Laura mumbled as she tried to resist the urge to yell out in a panic. She was a trained soldier, not a helpless little girl! Laura immediately tried to push him away from her.

"Soft~" This only served to make things worse (better) since he crashed down on the bed and didn't even bother to let go of her. Right now, both of them were on the bed and looked like they were doing some kind of awkward embrace.

'_Got to get out of here'_ Laura struggled and shook left and right but he wouldn't budge, this continued on for 5 more minutes before she decided to just gave up.

Unfortunately, her "captor" had caught her in a vice like grip so she was stuck like this. Resigning herself to her current condition, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

'_I-It's not like I'm enjoying it or anything. I just can't find a way to get out of this, that's all!'_ She thought hotly to herself as her face started to redden from their close contact.

_**'So the super soldier can't get out? Sounds like someone's making excuses~'**_ Here comes that voice again, why couldn't it just leaver her alone? She was stressed enough with the boy currently crushing her against him in a bear hug.

_**'Hey hey, look in front of you.'**_ Laura knew she shouldn't have, but she couldn't resist the voice's goading and finally looked straight ahead of her.

Big mistake.

There, just a few inches in front of her, was the subject of her temptation: The sleeping face of her new object of desire. The innocent expression could melt any girls heart was just a few inches in front of her and the lips were slightly parted, trying to invite her once again to take them in hers.

_**'No no no! This is not the way you were raised! Do not give in to these foolish notions of supposed love!'**_ She furiously denied as she refused to give in to the "temptation".

With a huff, she turned her face away from his and closed her eyes in order to get some sleep. Hopefully, she would wake up in the morning and find herself without these confusing emotions and everything back to normal.

~o.O.o~

Clarissa smiled as she observed Laura's actions through the video camera. Honestly, that girl could never be honest with herself even when the things she wanted were right in front of her.

"So, any luck?" She turned to the side and found her friend Chifuyu staring at her with a knowing smirk on her face.

Clarissa sighed before answering, "It's going slowly. The voice in the head thing is helping things a lot though." She smiled and gestured to the small mic she held between her fingers.

All of the Shwarzer Hase were implanted with nano machines directly in their brains that allowed communication to them in the most dire circumstances. Naturally, as trainees, they weren't told of these specific implants, which allowed Clarissa to take advantage and act as Laura's "voice in her head" to urge her along.

"I'm surprised she didn't question the sudden voice in her head telling her to do things" Chifuyu remarked offhandedly.

"That girls always been like that: Focusing on one thing and completely ignoring everything else. She was so focused on your brother she didn't recognize my voice" Clarissa stifled a laugh as she recounted what happened.

Both of them smiled and clicked their glasses again for another toast. If everything went well, those two would be at each other before either of them knew it.

If only it was that simple...

*RING* *RING*

_'Phone's ringing? That's odd, no one ever calls nowadays.'_ Clarissa stopped her drinking and made her way to the table to pick up the phone.

"Hello" She answered.

"Lieutenant Clarissa, this is Captain Enyala." The voice of a middle-aged woman answered her.

"Captain, is there anything you need" Clarissa replied cordially to the senior officer. Having a call from her usually meant something important was about to happen.

"We've made a breakthrough on a project and would like to clarify something." She recited in a matter of fact manner.

"What is it, Captain?" Clarissa replied with a touch of nervousness.

"Is the recruit, 'Laura Bodewig', still maintaining top performance?" She asked.

Clarissa resisted the urge to sigh. It was always like this, Laura was the first successful result of Germany's "Super Soldier program" and was frequently checked on to see if she maintained top performance for everything.

"Yes, her performance has been excellent and she only shows signs of improving" Clarissa replied evenly.

There was a moment of silence before she heard a reply again, "Then we will be needing her in a few days."

"What do you mean, Captain?" She struggled to keep her tone even.

"We have a new project and we think she would be the perfect subject." The captain replied.

"But Laura was transferred her under specific orders to join the Shwarzer Hase! She should no longer be required to follow the lab's orders!" Clarissa forgot her sense of professionalism for a moment and let her temper flare.

"Don't worry, Captain Clarissa. The procedure won't take long and afterwards she will have no more obligations to us." The captain replied as if Clarissa hadn't lost her composure just a moment ago.

Clarissa felt her blood boil but she forced herself to calm down. Now was not the time to lose her composure, "Understood, what will she be doing?" She gritted out.

"It's a new project intended to capitalize on the recent success of the Infinite Stratos." The captain explained.

"I was hoping for a name instead, Captain" Clarissa pointed out.

"A new project by the German Military. It goes by the name: Valkyrie Trace System."


	3. Chapter 3

**I realize the explanation on the VT system might not be completely accurate so please bear with me. It's not like the anime expanded on it much, and the light novel wasn't much better.**

**Sorry if this part stinks. I've been having a bit of a hard time with this arc so it may be a bit lackluster. Hopefully the next chapter will be better.**

**~o.O.o~**

"A new project by the German Military. It goes by the name: Valkyrie Trace System."

Clarissa felt herself stiffen as she heard the Captain's announcement. The Valkyrie Trace system, or VT system for short, was an experimental system designed by the German research division

"Did you say the Valkyrie Trace system? Wasn't that still in the experimental phase just a few months ago?" Clarissa nearly lost her grip on the phone as she tried to stay composed. Chifuyu was staring at her, but she ignored her for now. She had bigger things to worry about.

"Rest assured, the project has been perfected and all of the kinks have been worked out to ensure the most possible benefits." Enyala answered.

The fact that she didn't answer whether the user would be safe or not wasn't lost on Clarissa.

"When do you plan to do this experiment?" Clarissa asked.

"We will be doing the experiment once we are prepared to do so. Just prepare for our arrival at any point."

Clarissa tried to ask for more information, but the phone clicked and the line disconnected. Sighing, she sat back down on her seat and grabbed the glass of wine again.

"What happened?" Chifuyu asked, worry evident in her voice.

"Well...it's a bit complicated. I'd rather not talk about it." She poured more wine onto her glass and raised it to her lips slowly.

Chifuyu stood up from her seat before she took the glass away from Clarissa's hand and placed it gently on the table.

"What was that for?" Clarissa asked annoyed at the fact that her drink was taken from her. She really needed one right now and talking to the Captain just made it worse.

Chifuyu sat back down and merely looked at her with that all too familiar stare of hers. "I asked you what happened." She said this without any hints of threats or pleading, but Clarissa knew all too well what would happen if she didn't answer.

Clarissa gulped and resisted the urge to very before composing herself. "Do you know what the Valkyrie Trace system is?" She asked.

"No." She replied curtly.

Clarissa leaned back in her chair and tried to relax herself. This was going to be a long night.

"Then I guess I'm going to have to explain."

"You should."

She really needed a drink right now.

**~o.O.o~**

Sunlight shined through the small windows of the barracks and bathed the entire living area with light. The various recruits were moving around, preparing for the days events, but there were two who had yet to awaken.

All of them looked at the last bed on the corner of the room where two figures were blissfully sleeping. One was the boy who had introduced himself to them only yesterday and the other was their best soldier, their arms were wrapped around each other in an embrace. No one could find an odder pair, but they seemed to complement each other perfectly.

"Do you think they're together?" One of them asked.

"Laura? You really think Miss 'I can shoot you from 50 feet away wih my eyes closed' is in a relationship?" Another answered.

"Then why are they hugging and sleeping on the same bed?" Another asked.

"She was probably asleep and he just slept there last night."

"Doesn't that mean he likes her? Why else would he sleep on her bed when it's the farthest from the entrance? It couldn't have been an accident."

"..."

They all sighed in dissapoinment as they left the room. They just lost their chance of getting into a relationship that Lieutenant Clarissa kept telling them about when she read shoujo manga. They did agree on one thing, however: If anyone would benefit from a relationship, it would've been Laura 'Ice queen' Bodewig.

**~o.O.o~**

Laura woke up feeling like she'd just been given an energy stim. Truly, a nights worth of sleep could do wonders for you.

She tried to stand before she realized that her arms were still being pinned to her sides by her "bedmate" and she was still unabe to move. She was half expecting that voice to start mocking her at this point, but he/she/it was quiet for some reason.

"Hey, Ichika, wake up" She whispered softly to the sleeping teen next to her.

Ichika ignored her and continued to sleep. Laura noticed that he was smiling and drooling slightly, but chose to ignore it. He was probably just having a good dream she thought to herself. She focused on trying to free herself from his grip again so she could get to training.

"Mmmmm~ Marshmallow~"

That is, until he started groping her chest.

"W-What're you doing!" She turned to the side and looked at his face, but, to her surprise, he was still sleeping soundly and seemed unaware of what he was doing, "Ichika, wake up!" She yelled at him, hoping he would wake up and realize what was happening.

He seemed to twitch slightly before his face relaxed again. Unfortunately, the groping didn't seem to stop, far from it, he seemed to be kneading her more vigorously than before.

"Soft Marshmallow~" He laughed slightly as he continued to massage Laura's chest.

She supressed the redness spreading on her cheeks and resisted the urge to squeak as she tried to wake him up again, "T-That's not a marshmallow!" She pinched his cheeks as she could and hoped that it would wake him up.

"Ow~ The marshmallow bit me~" He complained as Laura continued to pinch his cheek. After a few more seconds, he released her from his grip and Laura scrambled away from the bed as fast as he could.

'That was too close...' Laura thought as she changed her clothes to her training uniform. He could just stay here for today and sleep in, it wasn't like he had to train with them, anyway.

With that thought in mind, Laura left the small barracks to join her fellow recruits in the field for todays training (torture) sessions.

**~o.O.o~**

Chifuyu paced in front of the group with a stern gaze fixated on them as she observed them all. She was dressed in her gray jogging attire and her hair was still in a pnytail, but she excluded and aura of command so fearsome that no one could deny she felt like she belonged here.

Her gaze seemed to linger on Laura for a few seconds longer, but no one, not even Laura, seemed to notice. With a nod, she blew the whistle around her neck and caused all of them to stand rigid in attention.

"Alright everyone, I want you to do some of the regular physical excercises that you usually do. Do two sets of these then I'll give you more excercises." Chifuyu blew the whistle again and all of them scrambled to their usual positions.

The girls started their usual excercises composed of jumping jacks, stretches, and other forms of light movement. After a while, Chifuyu whistled again and gestured for them to start jogging around the field. None of them complained since it was better than the obstacle course.

While this was going on, Chifuyu was busy thinking about what Clarissa had told her.

**~o.O.o~**

"Well, I just got a call from one of the heads of the Research labs." Clarissa started to explain.

"Hasn't the lab been focused on IS related research ever since 10 years ago?" Chifuyu recalled the info that Clarissa had given her before she made her trip. Apparently, the lab was assigned and legalized to research the IS if they only allowed it to be used for sports and nothing else. Every country followed the treaty Germany was no exception.

"Yes. They want to try implanting Laura with the Valkyrie Trace system in a few days."

Chifuyu racked her mind, but she couldn't find any info on it,"Valkyrie Trace? Doesn't sound familiar to me."

"The Valkyrie Trace system is designed to improve the users IS piloting capabilities by implanting a miniature version of the IS' Hyper sensor directly into the persons optical nerves. By doing this, the person can hopefully increase in performance in both in and out of the IS unit." Clarissa recalled how the scientists had proposed the idea to the military board just a few months ago.

"What's the problem" Chifuyu knew that nothing like that came without it's drawbacks.

"Almost all the users experienced severe bouts emotional instability and sadistic tendencies when they were implanted. Many of them are still recovering at clinics now due to the trauma they received." Clarissa's voice became stony as she recalled the various incidents the past few months ago, "And now they want to do it again."

"But why Laura? Is there a reason they're focusing on her?"

Clarissa sighed before continuing, "Yes. Recently they've been focused on Laura's development here at the base due to her super soldier genes."

"Super Soldier genes?" Chifuyu tilted her head to the side in confusion, "This is the first time I've heard of it."

"The Super soldier project, officially dubbed the 'Uber Soldier experiment', was a program by the German Military to create the perfect super soldier using egg donors from various women and manipulating the genes to optimal level. The experiment had varying levels of success and there was only one perfect test subject..." Clarissa trailed off at the end when she mentioned the perfect test subject.

"This perfect test subject is Laura, then." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Yes. They're probably hoping this will make her immune to the drawbacks of the system and prove beneficial in the long run, but I don't believe it."

"Do you think this makes her different from any of the others?" Chifuyu asked her.

Clarissa looked down when she heard Chifuyu say that. It was true, Laura had been the perfect test subject and was released into her custody only a few months ago.

"No. She's the same as everybody else, no matter where she came from. If she's given that treatment, she'll be as vulnerable as the rest. She's just as human as the rest of us." Clarissa affirmed.

But that didn't mean she thought that she was some kind of pet project. Far from it, Laura was one of the people she was closest to here and no amount of experimentation would change that.

Chifuyu smiled slightly as she heard Clarissa's answer, "Alright then, tell me everything you know and we'll see what we can do."

**~o.O.o**

Chifuyu sighed as she remembered what happened the previous night. She acted like she was some kind of savior, but the truth was she didn't know what she could do for Laura either. They just had to hope for something to come to them.

"Um~ Miss Orimura?" She heard a voice beside her ask.

She looked to the side and the girl in question immediately squeaked in fright. She didn't notice that all her thinking made her face contort to a light scowl.

"Yes, what is it?"

"W-Well we finished the training exercise and we were wondering what to do" The girl nervously replied. She was a rookie by the looks of it.

Chfuyu thought to herself for a bit before an idea came to her, "Everyone, we'll be doing pairs excercises for now so grab a partner."

Everyone started mumbling to themselves in excitement. Pair activities were rare nowadays and they were always fun to do together.

"Ah, of course I'll be joining in as well so I'll be needing a partner too." Chifuyu suddenly added.

"..."

All the noise from girls immediately stopped and they turned to stare at Chifuyu.

"I'll just pick the person who has no partn-"

Before Chifuyu could complete her sentence, all of the girls scrambled around and immediately grabbed the closest person they could find. In just 30 seconds, everyone in the area was paired.

Except for two people.

Laura and the recruit beside her were the only two who were apart from the group when they paired up so they were left to the wolves so to speak. The girl beside Chifuyu was visibly shaking in terror now while Laura just seemed confused at what happened.

"Since everyone picked the person closest to them, I guess I will too." Before the girl could voice her protest, Chifuyu placed her hand on her shoulder and immediately the girls shaking worsened as Chifuyu dragged her with her.

"Alright, lets start the-"

"Miss Orimura, please wait a moment."

Chifuyu looked to where the voice originated from and saw Laura looking at her, "What is it Bodewig?" She asked.

"I do not have a partner, does this mean I am exempt from the exercise?"

"What are you talking about? You have a partner just like everybody else."

"Everyone has already paired up and you took Brier with you as your partner." Laura was genuinely confused. Didn't everyone already have a pair?

"Who else apart from Clarissa is here and isn't doing anything?" Chifuyu had to stop herself from smiling when Laura's faced blushed and right eye twitched slightly.

"T-That would be your brother, Miss Orimura." Laura answered in a soft voice.

"There's your partner, go wake him up and tell him to change into some of his training clothes and come back here as fast as you can."

Laura wanted to protest but held herself back. There was no need to anger the person who could most likely turn her into an ash pile on the floor she reasoned to herself.

Chifuyu sighed softly to herself as she watched Laura go back to the barracks. This was a gamble, but it was the only thing she could do for now.

She wondered if she could truly count on her brother to help her if the time came or if everything would be all right. Hopefully she would find out in the days to come.

She was also beginning to wonder why the girl beside her seemed to be hyperventilating and looked like she was about to faint when Chifuyu tightened her grip on her shoulder slightly. She hoped she could find out about why in the days to come, too.


	4. Chapter 4

**Small note: Ichika and Laura are both 14 nearing 15 here. Just a reminder/retcon.**

**~o.O.o~**

**1 week later.**

It was hot.

Extremely hot.

Summers at the base were always on the warm side. Command told once told them that the heat was for their training and that the warm environment forced them to focus and become more self aware of both themselves and their surroundings.

Personally, Clarissa thought it was because they were too cheap to pay for air conditioning.

'_Honestly, they can pay for super soldier and cloning experiments, but they can't spare something to make sure none of us die of heat stroke?'_ She thought hotly as she fanned her face with her hand. The cool morning had come and gone and now the sun was up in its full (And extremely hot) glory.

"No slowing down! I want to see you do 20 sit ups each!" A voice pierced through the air.

Despite the heat, Clarissa couldn't help but chuckle as she heard the groans of the recruits when they heard the order. Since the heat had risen, the recruits had taken to forgoing their thick uniforms for thinner shirts and tank tops. Now normally this wasn't a problem.

Unfortunately, the presence of a certain male was causing distractions all around. For some reason that missed her mind, he chose to forgo upper clothing altogether and did the sit ups shirtless. She had to admit, Laura's flustered face and the red faced stares of the other recruits was priceless.

She also had to admit he was pretty fit for his age. Chifuyu's training was definitely showing there.

Most males Clarissa knew who had to stay in the presence of such a large amount of the opposite sex would either brave through the heat or try to keep as much clothing on as possible in such as situation. It wasn't because they were embarrassed. Oh no, they had nothing to be embarrassed about, what with everyone being physically fit and all.

No, the problem was the girls themselves whenever it happened. The Shwarzer Haze were an all female operative group, as such, they had little to no contact with the opposite gender apart from the occasional old general or commanding officer coming over for inspections.

There was that one time about a year ago that made any male wary to come over the base.

Command had captured a specialist agent (Code designate: VECTOR) from some kind of corrupt mega industry (Umbrella, she thinks its name was) and was having trouble getting anything out of him. Any interrogation technique they tried on him was either met with laughter or deadpan insults.

Eventually, they got tired of his unresponsive behavior and sent him to them to see if they would fare any better. At that time, Clarissa didn't understand their logic: If the main army branch were having trouble interrogating him, what made them think they, a bunch of recruits, would have any better luck?

What they failed to mention was who exactly the agent was.

They were expecting some kind of middle-aged soldier to be brought to them full of scars no doubt from being tortured during interrogation. The way command made him sound like made it seem like he was some kind of Veteran sociopath.

Instead, they got something completely unexpected: A young man of Asian descent who looked to be in his early twenties at the most, and as much as Clarissa didn't want to admit it, very physically attractive. The fact that he was dressed in nothing but a thin shirt and a pair of pants didn't exactly leave much to the imagination.

Clarissa couldn't remember another time the entire Haze was so focused (Bar Laura, who didn't really care) on one thing. They even accomplished the goal of interrogating him for all the info he had. Too bad all he seemed to know was some nonsense about zombies in some kind of remote city. They placed him in a mental institute soon afterwards.

Clarissa never did figure out how they managed to make him talk. All she remembered was that it was possibly the shortest interrogation she'd ever seen. They walked in, it was quiet for a couple minutes, then walked back out. Even odder, they didn't even find any injuries or much sign of a struggle when they inspected him.

Well, apart from the fact that his shirt looked like it had been ravaged by a rabid dog. Completely unrelated, of course.

Clarissa shook her head left and right. Now was not the time for remembering incidents from the past year. No, now was the time she found a plan to save Laura from whatever that _**bitch **_was planning to do to her.

Now if only she had any idea how she could go about doing that.

"Hah, hah. 1, 2, 3 , 4."

Laura should have known better. She should have taken a stand. She was the best soldier on the entire group, damn it! If she needed a partner, she could find some other way. Anything but giving in. A good soldier never gave in!

"5, 6, 7, 8."

It was all his fault. All _**his**_ damn fault! Ever since he came here everything's been confusing. She couldn't focus on training, sleeping became a struggle, and worse off all, everyone in the entire camp seemed to think the two of them were in love! No, no! She's the perfect soldier, the pride of her unit, and the one who was most likely going to lead the Haze when she came of age.

"9, 10, 11, 12."

His habits had gotten even worse over the past week since they had become partners. Suddenly, he thought it gave him the permission to go around dragging her wherever he damned pleased. Whether it be the firing range, the obstacle course, or (Rarely) out of the base and to the nearby town.

"13, 14, 15, 16."

Even worse; as partners, they had to stay in close physical contact during training. And by close, she meant **close. **Holding each other to keep balance during the obstacle courses, doing pair exercises, and even practicing basic medical training. Thankfully, CPR wasn't included, much to the disappointment of some of her peers, she was sure.

"17, 18, 19, 20."

Now, she didn't mind this all that much. Oh no, of course not. What kind of soldier would she be if she couldn't ignore something as minor as gender? Soldiers from the opposite sex worked together seamlessly. If they could do it, then she could too!

"Laura?"

Of course, she had to ignore the fact that he wasn't a soldier, and so he wouldn't act like one or have the discipline required for a supposed professional partnership. But that was just a minor detail. Also, how did they understand one another? She was speaking German and he was speaking Japanese. How did they...nevermind, it's better she didn't wonder.

"Um...Laura?"

And did he really have to go half naked during the entire exercise? She could understand that it was hot – She herself wearing only a loose shirt – but did he have to take off his shirt in the middle of it because he was feeling hot. She expected him to at least have the decency and common sense to put a shirt over his body. Didn't he realize that the others were all but ogling him ever since he took it off? Not that she was jealous or anything.

She was getting distracted...because of his odd appearance! The sweat clinging to his skin and the small, but noticeable muscles had no effect on her at all, of course. That would be silly!

"Earth to Laura..."

For now, she had to work on calming herself down and keeping her distance. This whole...blushing and feeling light headed whenever he so much as touched her was really starting to get old. Okay yes, he was handsome, very much so, but that didn't mean she had to-

"Laura!"

"Bwaaaah!"

Laura screamed and landed on the ground in a heap as Ichika hovered over her, concerned. He had finished his sit ups just a few seconds ago and was hoping to switch with her so they could finish up, but she just kept staring at him with a look that said 'I'm thinking, don't bother me'. Still, rather face her than his demon of a sis- Strict but kind instructor Orimura. Of course, she was a kind woman,

Laura looked up to him with a scowl at him, causing him to shiver slightly. Seriously, he never understood why she always seemed so hostile towards him lately. Weren't they friends now? That was the general vibe he got ever since they started calling each other by first name.

Things seemed to get worse the day afterwards. It started with her kicking him out of their bed and telling him to put on respectable clothes before meeting her on the field.

It only went downhill from there. From frequently trying to avoid him, to outright trying to avoid physical contact when not necessary. Their budding friendship came to an abrupt and total halt.

Still, despite this, he still tried to make it work.

"W-What do you want!"

With mixed results.

"W-Well, I just wanted to switch doing the sit ups since I'm done. It's your turn now." He informed her.

She stared at him for a few seconds longer, particularly at his bare chest, before taking the position to do the sit ups. Ichika took a moment to take a deep breath before holding onto her legs, not noticing Laura's temporary loss of self at the contact,

"1, 2, 3, 4."

His first meeting with Laura was...awkward, to say the least. It consisted of a tour that basically boiled down to "This place is this" and "That place is that" along with shooting down any question that wasn't related. It was the first time in his life he ever heard "Unrelated to the current activity" as a response to a "How old are you?" question.

"5, 6, 7, 8."

He did get her to lighten up when he all but begged her to show him to the firing range, but she went right back to "Unrelated to the current activity" when she woke him up by morning. Maybe it had something to do with them being training partners?...Nah, couldn't be. She had no problems teaching him how to use a gun before, so why have a problem now?

"9, 10, 11, 12."

Then again, there was the fact that her face was mostly red the entire week they'd been together. He was getting worried. Was she running a fever? She didn't seem like it. Her body temp was normal the entire time they were training. It wasn't just her; the entire team stared at him when he took off his shirt when afternoon practices become too unbearably hot earlier. One of them even got a nosebleed. He hoped she was okay; she lost a lot of blood there.

"13, 14, 15, 16."

He never did figure out why Chifu- Instructor Orimura told him to start training with the recruits. She seemed hesitant to bring him with her and she only did when she realized how irresponsible it is to leave your brother alone for one year after he just got kidnapped.

"17, 18, 19, 20."

'_I wish it wasn't so hot out. I feel really exposed here' _He shivered as a gust of wind buffeted his back. Maybe going Rambo wasn't such a good idea.

"Ichika...I'm done." He heard Laura mutter softly.

He took his hands off her legs and sat down quickly, Laura following him after getting up herself. The two of them sat next to each other quietly while waiting for the other recruits to finish.

'_Well...this is awkward.'_ He thought to himself as the mood set in. Laura was looking forward and didn't seem to pay any attention to the teen beside her. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife. _'Well, might as well start a conversation'._

"L-Laura."

She didn't react for a few seconds before slowly turning her head to look at him.

"What is it?" She asked in a clipped tone. She looked really angry at him for some reason.

Ichika sweatdropped. _'Yikes, she really does look mad.'_

Truth be told, he really didn't know what to ask her. He just wanted to get rid of the awkward atmosphere, "W-Well, I was just wondering if-"

"Unrelated to the current activity." She interrupted him before looking forward again.

'_That was fast!'_ He nearly yelled out. Instead, he opted for a more rational. "You didn't even let me finish!"

She narrowed her single eye at him, "Was what you were going to ask at all related to the current task at hand?" She questioned (More like Interrogated) him.

"Uh...yes! Yes, it does!" He answered quickly.

"Well...what is it?"

This is the part where he fumbles for an excuse somewhere and tries to forget this ever happened. Unfortunately, his brain didn't seem to catch up quickly enough and he blurted out the first thing to come to his head.

"Do you hate me?"

Her face contorted in shock for a second before going to back to her somewhat angry expression. Ichika gulped nervously. Maybe he should start running now, try to get a head start before the pain began.

Laura took a deep breath before replying to him, "Whether I do or don't, it's unrelated to the-"

"But it is!" He interrupted before lowering his voice, "I mean: It's very related to the current activity."

"How so?"

"Uh...well, we're training partners now, right?" He waited for her to nod before continuing, "Well, partners have to know they can trust one another. If I don't know whether you hate me or not, then how will I know if I can trust you?" He reasoned out.

Laura stared at him for a few seconds before looking down, "Well...I guess that makes sense" She said softly. She looked back up at him before saying, "To answer your question: No, I don't hate you."

Ichika heaved a sigh of relief. He was glad she-

"Now it's my turn to ask you a question."

His brain took a moment to process what she had just said before emitting a dull,"...Huh?"

"I think it's only fair. You asked me a question, and I ask you a question." She reasoned.

"Well, okay. What do you want to ask?"

She hesitated slightly before asking, "What made you ask such a question? After all, I have given you no reason to think so." She resolutely stated.

'_Yeah, you kinda have.'_ Of course, he was smart enough to not say that out loud. "Well, you have been acting kind of distant the whole week..." He trailed off.

A vein popped on her forehead at the accusation,"I am not being 'distant', I am being professional!" She answered loudly.

"Really? I don't remember don't remember 'No touching me unless you have to or I'll freak out' as being professional. Chifuyu-nee doesn't go ballistic at the slightest touch." He argued sarcastically. Were he calmer, he would've realized he forgot to call Chifuyu "Instructor", but he really didn't care at the moment.

"Well maybe that's because she doesn't have to worry about getting trapped by people think she's a teddy bear or being groped in her sleep. 'Mmmm, marshmallow'. Sound familiar to you?" She rebutted.

'What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you don't remember? Then let me remind you: After your little detour idea, you fell asleep at the door. I had to drag you in and you, for some reason or another, decided to use me as a teddy bear and lock me in a vice grip." Her face reddened slightly as she remembered, "And when morning came, you tried to grope my chest before I was even awake."

"I was sleepy and confused! It wasn't like I did it on purpose!" His face reddened in embarrassment. Normally he would leave it at that, but when he argued, he **argued**. "Besides, I wouldn't do it if I knew what I was doing."

"Oh yes, I'm sure that makes it much better. Shooting an ally by accident doesn't diminish the fact that you shot your ally. Only the action matters, not the intent." She pointed out.

"There, you just contradicted yourself!" He pointed at her, "You were acting distant, but you said you were being professional. By your logic, it doesn't matter what the intent was: You were acting distant and that's what matters." He smirked as her expression changed to one of disbelief and shock.

"T-That's different!" She denied angrily, "The logic only applies to fools. Since I am no fool and you are, I'm obviously exempt and you're not!"

"What th- That's Bullshit! You just don't want to admit that you're wrong and now you're insulting me too!"

"Hmph, so says the fool who fondles girls while they sleep." She sarcastically bit out.

"How many times do I have to tell you that it's an accident? I swear; one thing and you never let it go." He sighed tiredly. "Look, will it make it better if I apologize?" He offered. He really didn't want to argue with her about who was right or wrong. He had enough of that with Rin.

Laura looked shocked for a moment before she managed to answer, "No...but I wouldn't stop you if you did." She answered sheepishly.

"Alright then: Laura Bodewig. I sincerely apologize for any offenses I may have done. He apologized, "Now will you lighten up? We need to work together, and I can't do that when you flip out at the slightest contact."

Laura nodded her head, "Yes, well...I suppose I shouldn't have overreacted, and...I apologize for being distant the whole week and calling you a fool. It was wrong of me to do so."

"Yeah, next time I'll keep my hands to myself, don't worry." He re-assured her.

"G-Good. I wouldn't want it to happen again...while I'm asleep, that is" She unconsciously whispered the last part to herself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! You were just hearing things, that's all!" Her face reddened so heavily it looked like she was sunburnt.

"So...partners?" Ichika stuck his hand out in affirmation.

"Mmm, partners" She smiled slightly and shook the offered hand.

A few moments passed before the two of them looked down at the ground in awkward silence.

"Hey...Ichika?"

"...Yeah?"

"Put your shirt back on. I really do not want to pair with someone half naked."

"Oh...right." He stood up to grab his shirt before he realized something.

Everybody was staring at the two of them. Some with smiles, others with tears, and other with jealousy. But the most embarrassing one was the fact that both Clarissa and Chifuyu were looking at them with smirks (Shit eating grins) on their faces.

"Well, lovebirds drama over with? We were waiting for a while now." Chifuyu asked lightly.

Ichika hurriedly put his shirt back on before replying, "Y-yes, ma'am. Just settling some partnership issues. Right, Laura?"

"R-right, just making sure we could be at 100% come the next activity!" Laura stood up and answered.

"Well, that's good. The next exercise will be a new one and require both members to be at their best."

"And...that exercise would be?" Laura asked nervously.

If looks could kill, then Chifuyu's smirk would make the two of them wish they died on the spot.

"Advanced medical training, first lesson: CPR. Hope that rest was worthwhile, since you two will be up first."

**~o.O.o~**

**Now before anyone chews my head off, let me state this: The reason Laura's acting different is because this is pre-meltdown Laura: She's unsure how to act socially, kinda mean without meaning to, and has a lot of pride for being the best in her unit. Ichika's acting as the perfect "bride" for Laura: Somewhat naïve, kind, and dedicated, but not afraid to say "Bullshit". His looks are from the fact that Laura actually sees him as some kind of supermodel with sparkles in the novel, but I didn't want to overplay that too much. Since she's falling for him, she reacts the only way she knows how: By being the proud soldier girl.**

**The fact that Ichika makes her uncomfortable makes her lash out, so it's not love at first sight or anything. They have fundamentally different viewpoints. Don't worry, Sweet!Laura will show up after the conflict.**

**Please R&R**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 for "The Soldier and the Bride" here! Going to be switching from 1****st**** person view to 3****rd**** person view from now on. Not much difference between them anyway.**

**Anyway, to answer some questions:**

**Dragon God xx – Yeah, that's where I got it from:) The two kinda fit appearance wise.**

**KingOgnik – Depends. It was supposed to end when Ichika and Laura get together, but it will depend on how many people read this and where they want this to go. To anybody reading, leave your thoughts on this.**

* * *

The waves lapped at the shore, turning the sand and the surrounding area moist. Here is where the Shwarzer Hase usually had their training to for land and sea operations. Since this stretch of beach was located far off the area, rarely anyone ever came here, which guaranteed privacy. Thankfully it was within walking distance of the base and only took 30 minutes or so.

"Alright, everybody line up and prepare yourselves!" Instructor Orimura yelled. She'd only been with us for a week or so, but she already had both our respect and fear. Well, mostly fear. Blair still refuses to come to morning practice ever since she partnered with her.

"Yes Ma'am!"

All of us lined up by smallest to largest, with me obviously up front...not that I resent that or anything. Being small had its advantages after all. Who cares if I can't reach the highest shelf or I had a harder time doing the Standing long jump? Not me that's for sure!

"Alright, lets get started." She paced left and right, holding the whistle between her fingers, "All of you will pair up with your training partner and do the CPR exercise." I had to resist the urge to flinch, "One of you will be the receiver, the other giving the resuscitation. To emphasize the urgency of the situation, we'll be making it as realistic as impossible?

Realistic? What did she mean by that? The others were already whispering amongst themselves. They had gotten interested as well.

She smirked before calling out, "Ichika, get your butt up here!" She yelled and walked to the edge of the shore. The water went up to her knees but she ignored it. I hope she has another pair of pants handy.

"E-Eh, why me...?" He pointed at himself, mouth wide open in shock. Why are you so shocked? It's not like she'd pick anybody else here. Blair still won't leave the cabin and Clarissa's trying to get her to come out even now. It's not like she knows anybody here very well.

"Just get up here! No questions!"

Ichika grimaced and looked at me with a slight beg. What? Why are you looking at me? It's not like I can do anything against the instructor. I don't want to be the next person rocking back and forth on the barracks muttering to myself that I'll never go outside again.

"Now, Orimura, before I lose my patience!" She scowled. Ichika, you may want to go to her before all of us end up getting in trouble.

"Yes, Chifuyu-nee" He slumped sadly and slowly walked forward. Don't be too sad Ichika, at least you don't have to partner with her everyday.

"Alright class, first things first." She raised her fist and brought it down on Ichika's head, "When I'm training you, everyone calls me Instructor Orimura. No exceptions, ifs, ands, or, buts. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Instructor Orimura!" All of us stood up straighter and saluted. We knew her well enough that she deserved the highest amount of respect for anything she did.

"Good." She smiled, "Now, as you most likely know, CPR, or as it's more likely known, 'the kiss of life', is a maneuver where you resuscitate someone after they have ingested a high amount of water through their mouth." Some of the others were touching their lips and blushing now. Why? It's a common procedure.

"And so, to stop any of you from losing focus, we're going to have to make the situation more realistic" She turned to Ichika, "Alright, Orimura, take off your shirt."

Did I mishear that? No, I must be imagining it.

"H-Huh? What did you say Chifu- Intructor Orimura?"

"Hmph, you heard me. Take off your shirt, and your pants too. We need it for the next part." She ignored his flabbergasted expression and continued, "Besides, you didn't have any objections to doing it earlier when you and Bodewig were feeling each other up."

"We weren't feeling each other up!" Everybody turned to look at me. Wait, did I just say that out loud? Oh...not good.

"I was just joking, Bodewing, no need to get so angry." Was my face blushing? It felt really hot right now. I better not be blushing, it's not proper for someone with my performance record to start getting emotional, "Anyway Orimura, if you don't want to take off your clothes, then that's fine. Just don't complain afterwards."

He looked like he was going to ask what she meant before she shushed him quickly. She quickly grabbed him by the back of the head and dunked his head in the water- Waaah! Was she trying to murder him!

"As you see here, a person struggles when water tries to enter every orifice, making it hard to breath." She pointed to his flailing arms, "Limbs tend to become useless due to the panic making it hard to make coherent decisions." No, I think they're useless right now because you're dunking his head underwater.

I really wanted to go out there and help him, but I didn't want to break orders. I mean he was my partner, right? It's normal for partners to want to help one another in times of crisis. It also didn't have anything to do with the fact that I found her extremely scary.

"Now, it usually takes about a minute or so before the person suffocates and- Oh, looks like it's already happened."

Ichika was lying facedown on the water now, there wasn't even a single bubble coming out of the water...Is he alright? H-He doesn't look like he's breathing...

"Well, now we have to start the exercise on CPR already." She shrugged lazily. Shouldn't you be more worried? He's not moving...at all, "So who wants to do it? Normally partners would do it, but I don't want someone who'll hesitate right now."

The next second could be described as the lovechild of a storm and an earthquake. Loud screams of "Me!" filled the entire area. The people in the nearby towns probably thought bombs were being shelled or something.

But I should be happy, right? I don't have to be the one to do it and it saves me the trouble of embarrassing myself by k-k-k-kissing him in front of everyone. It's better this way, right?"

"I-I-I'LL DO IT!" Strange, that last one sounds really familiar. And why did I feel like I just screamed my lungs out?

"L-Laura wants to do it!"

"I-Impossible! Laura's blushing!"

"How cute~"

Everybody was pointing at me, why was everybody pointing at me? Was I the one who just yelled? No, impossible!

"I'm not blushing!" Now I know I just yelled. But why? Normally I'd be looking at things logically, strategically, trying to make solutions before a problem even starts. Not just blurting out every little thing that comes into mind. That's the course of action an untrained rookie on his first day makes.

"Uh, ladies? I don't want to interrupt, but Ichika is kind of dying here" Instructor Orimura, why do you look so nonchalant about your brother possible drowning to death?

Everybody stopped yelling and started pushing me to the collapsed boy, "Uwaa, stop pushing me~!" I planted my feet in the ground and tried to hold my place. There was no way I was going to be forced to do it. No way!

"Why are you being so resistant, Laura-chan? You said you wanted to do it." No I wasn't, you were hearing things! And why are you adding a 'chan' at the end? You've been spending too much time with Clarissa. Speaking of which, where is she? Making Blair come out shouldn't take too long.

"Bodewig, just hurry up and do it before this idiot drowns and kills himself..." You still don't sound very concerned, Instructor.

"A-Alright, I'll do it. Just...stop pushing me!" I shook off the pushing hands and kneeled down. _'Okay, just turn him around.' _ I ignored the moisture seeping into my knees and grabbed his shoulders before turning him on his back.

"I'm so excited~"

"T-They grow up so fast!"

"Quick, get the camera before she does it!"

Why do they have to make this so awkward? Be more professional, please. I'm just trying to make sure my **training** partner doesn't end up going to a watery grave because the instructor doesn't seem care at all.

"Alright Bodewig, begin the procedure." Why are you smirking? This is serious!

'_You don't need to remind me, Instructor, I'm well aware.' _ I placed both hands on his face, careful to try and avoid unnecessary discomfort... his sleeping face looked really cu- odd.

'_It's alright, I can do this. This doesn't have to be so weird: Just lean in, put your lips over his, then ki- resuscitate him. Simple and easy, just the way everything should. This shouldn't be bothering me so much.' _I tried to ignore the bubbling feeling in my stomach that something was wrong.

With that thought in my head, I slowly leaned down before stopping just a couple of inches before contact. At this point a single push, a single movement would be enough to-

"Mmmmh, Laura? What's going on?" Wait, that voice sounds like...

"I-Ichika!" I immediately backed away, landing not so gracefully on my butt with my face steaming, "Wh-Why are you awake! I-I mean, how are you okay after you nearly drowned?" The others were still going on about a camera. Didn't you just see what happened?

"Huh?" What do you mean 'huh'? That should be my line! "I was always used to holding my breath when I was younger, maybe that's it?" Why are you asking me? You're the one who somehow managed to wake up from being drowned even without help, not me.

"Y-You idiot!" I smacked him hard on the head. "H-How can you just say that when you were clearly passed out earlier! " And here I was again letting my emotions run rampant. God, I must sound like an idiot right now.

"R-Really? Sorry for worrying you."

"I-I wasn't worried about you!" There's a voice saying 'liar' at the back of my head, but I'm choosing to ignore that, "I just didn't want to kis- do CPR with you when its not necessary." It wasn't going to be kissing anyway, just standard medical procedure.

"Eh, why? Isn't it just normal?" No, don't do that tilting your head where you look confused, it's really starting to bother me, "Anyway, its not like it'd be a big deal even if we did do it."

"Not a big deal..."

He was right, it shouldn't be a big deal. I could confidently say I'd do the procedure with anybody else here – even Instructor Orimura, if necessary – so why was the thought of doing it with him so hard? What makes him any different from anybody else that I find it hard to do something so simple?

I don't know, I'm just confusing myself right now.

The two of us just sat there, staring at each other, not saying a word. The others and Orimura-sensei? Not sure, they weren't here right now, and I didn't exactly want to of out of my to find them right now. Still, the two of use here, alone, while the waves lapped at hour knees felt...nice, almost peaceful. The entire week's either been training or awkward moments, so any break I can get is welcome.

"Blair, get back here this instant!"

And of course, the minute I say that there's bound to be interruptions. Of course.

"I'd rather die than go back to training with her!"

Blair was running towards us with Clarissa in tow, red hair disheveled and green eyes panicked. Well, it looked more like Blair was running for dear life while Clarissa was trying to drag her back. Off topic, but Blair's still wearing her pajamas and it was unbuttoned, most likely because she was running away, so her rather ample chest was showing.

Blair was usually one of the more experienced soldiers. Born from a German dad and Irish mom, both of who were soldiers, she had a natural talent for combat situations and excelled in the group. At 16 years old, she could probably give seasoned officers a run for their money.

Of course, this all changed when she got paired with Instructor Orimura. Being forced to help her set up the obstacle course 5 hours before everyone woke up, being used to "test" it just in case it had something that could actually kill someone instead of just seriously injuring them, training with the instructor even after everyone was done. The list of tasks she had to do over the week just went on and on, and finally, she just didn't want to leave her room this morning.

"Oh come one, Chifuyu can't be that bad!"

"Not that bad! She made a spike pit a few days ago and then pushed me in to see if the spikes 'were blunt enough'. How could you say she's not that bad!" Wow, she sounds really angry right now. Maybe she was holding it in all week? This is the most angry I've seen her since I've known her.

"It just shows that she trusts you not to hurt yourself!" There were some bloodstains on the ground I saw when we jumped over the pit. Nobody fell in last time I checked, so whose bloodstains were those?

"Well she sure has a funny way of showing it!"

The two of them ran in circles for about a minute before Blair saw the two of us just sitting there just staring at the two of them. She immediately beelined for us, with Clarissa trailing right behind her.

"Laura, help me! Clarissa's gone crazy!"

"Laura, hold her down so I can bring her back!"

Both of them were asking for my help and I was torn. As a Soldier, following the orders of a superior officer was priority. However, as a comrade, helping you fellow member was also a priority. I didn't know who to help so I just followed my instincts.

"Not my problem!" Military training kicked in and I rolled out of the way to the side to avoid them. Unfortunately, neither of them expected that and crashed into the remaining person there, namely Ichika.

"Uwaah!"

"Ichika, are you al...right?"

The scene in front to of me can only be described as something out of Clarissa's Japanese manga. The three of them were a tangled mess of limbs; Ichika on the bottom, with Blair and Clarissa on top of him. Blair's chest was covering his face and it looked like he was suffocating.

"B-Blair, get off him!" I ran towards the three sprawled on the ground and pushed the two off from him. "Get off him, he's mine!"

"Wai- Laura, what did you just say?" Clarissa was looking at me with a big smile on her face. She was ignoring the fact that both she and Blair were soaking wet by now.

Wait, what did she just say? Uh, that didn't come out right! "He mine...training partner, yes. He's my training partner." I nodded my head frantically, trying to keep my breathing steady and face not red.

"Uh-huh, whatever you say~" Don't you have a soldier to catch? You really shouldn't be looking like Christmas early.

"U-Um, Clarissa-san, I think Blaire-san's already left." Ichika pointed to the retreating figure of the girl. Wow, I didn't even see her leave. She really is good at what she does.

"Oh shit, better catch her! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" She picked herself up and ran after the retreating soldier. With all due respect, maybe you'd get better luck if you removed your high heels since we're on a sandy beach.

"You know, you sounded jealous earlier." He smirked up at me. I really wanted to wipe that smirk off his face, but we made a truce. Partner's don't hurt one another...well, unless you're Instructor Orimura.

"Wh-What are you saying? I-I wasn't jealous." I was nearly yelling again. He always knew what to say to make me mad.

"Huh, if say so~"

"Grr, stop smirking! I. Was. Not. Jealous!" I stamped my foot in the ground for emphasis. It was a calculated action to show seriousness, not out of impulse.

"All right, calm down, I believe you!" He held up his hands in surrender. Good, at least he knew where we stood.

"..."

"..."

"So...what do we do now?" Don't ask me, I'm still wondering where the others and instructor Orimura went.

"Well...have you heard the story about the man who fixed all of our technology and only asked for bottlecaps in return?" I couldn't help but smile when he gave me an incredulous look. I took a seat beside him and removed my shoes and socks before tossing them backwards. No need for it to make get any wetter.

"Well, a few months ago..."

* * *

**POV: 3****rd**** person view.**

Clarissa groaned and sunk into her seat. Dealing with Soldiers who decided to become shut ins was certainly unique, but she'd give anything not to have to do it again. Teen soldier's were even worse.

"Damn Chifuyu, what did you do to that girl? She was kicking and screaming the whole way back." The woman in question just shrugged and opened the wine bottle. She needed a drink after a long day.

"I mean, I've seen her stare at grown men with guns aimed at her head without even flinching and now she's suddenly a nervous wreck and refuses to leave her room. When I dragged her out, she ran all the way to the beach in her pajamas then back. I spent over an hour chasing her!"

Chifuyu ignored her friend's ramblings and poured the drink into two glasses, passing one onto her and leaned back in her seat.

"So...was there any progress in their relationship?" Clarissa asked.

"Mmmh, not really." Chifuyu sighed and drank the wine in one gulp, "I didn't see much progress from before. They're friends right now, but I don't really see much progress going on."

"Speaking of which, drowning your little brother, really? I've heard you were tough on him, but that's kinda going overboard." Clarissa downed her glass too. Drinking helped the closer the project day came.

"He was always hardy even when he was a kid. I knew he could handle it, I wouldn't have done it otherwise." The nonchalant tone Chifuyu used caused Clarissa to shiver. There was a reason the German Military had her come in for more than just IS training.

"Anyway, enough about that. I've had a long day and I just want to relax. No worries, no playing cupid, just relax." She stretched and yawned.

"Chifuyu, do you have any other plans for tonight?" Clarissa asked suddenly.

"Huh? Not really, why?"

"I was going to go into town and was wondering if you wanted to come with me."

Chifuyu immediately knew what that meant, "You're planning to go see that guy, aren't you?" The small laugh Clarissa did just confirmed it, "Listen, I don't think trying to get into a relationship with a guy who's covered head to toe in bandages is a good idea. Do you even know how old he is?"

"No, but that just adds to the appeal! It makes him more mysterious like that!" Chifuyu should've known trying to talk her friend out of her odd habits was pointless. She really should've never given her that one manga when they were younger.

"Can this guy even take care of himself? You don't exactly live a carefree life, you know." She tried one last chance to dissuade her.

"I saw him snipe someone standing on a hill from 500 yards away with a pistol with one hand." Okay, she had to admit, that took skill, "Also saw him get shot in the head a couple of times and he just shrugged it off."

"Yeah, that would be impressive...if we didn't live in a world where any woman could pilot Weapons of Mass Destruction."

Clarissa ignored her friends snarking and continued, "So, are you coming or not? I'm sure it'll be better than just staying here doing nothing."

'_Well, she's right about that'_ She sighed and grabbed the keys from the desk.

"I'm driving."

* * *

**Alright, next chapter done! **

**Laura gets more Tsundere in this chapter the more she gets close with our bumbling hero:D Will she get sweeter as the story goes on? Will she get that kiss she wants? Will Blair get out of her partnership with the instructor from hell?**

**All of this and more will be answered in the coming chapters so stay tuned and keep reading:)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Next Chapter. Actual progress in this chapter, nothing else to say for now.**

* * *

The moon shined brightly over the horizon, illuminating the small beach area with its silvery glow. The view was reminiscent of a painting. Laura also told him earlier about shooting stars arriving by the next half hour, which was something he was looking forward to.

"...This so embarrassing." Face dyed red, Laura mewed softy like a cat and buried her face in her arms to stop Ichika from seeing her pathetic smile, "This is an embarrassment for me both as a soldier and as a person!" She declared loudly.

"Hey, it's alright. You aren't heavy at all." Ichika smiled down at her and gave her a small shake, eliciting a surprised squeak from the silverette.

He couldn't help it, messing with her was kinda funny.

Their talk on the beach lasted for quite a bit. Talking about the most random things they could think of, the stress from earlier just melted away. Things were so much easier when there was no military practice, doctrine, or conduct being crammed down their throats.

Right now, they were just Ichika and Laura. No more no less.

And, as much as Laura would deny it when she was asked afterwards, she was actually having fun. The fact that she didn't have to deal with her comrades giving her catcalls and whistles to 'get on with it' certainly helped that.

"T-That's beside the point!" She reared her foot back and aimed for his head. One shot was all it would take to render him unconscious. If she were lucky, maybe he wouldn't even get a concussion afterwards or require operation. Then again, that might be pushing her luck too far.

"Ow, stop hitting me!" He ducked his head quickly, dodging the incoming strike and nearly dropping Laura in the process. Really, she wasn't making it easier for either of them. Good thing she weighed next to nothing or he'd be in troble.

Oh right, there was the little problem of Laura somehow losing her shoes. She swore she just tossed them back to stop them from getting wet along with her clothes, but that didn't change the fact that they were gone.

Whatever the reason, it didn't change the fact that nobody else was here and that Laura was barefoot. Their clothes were also wet, but that didn't really wasn't a big deal to either of them. It was actually kind of relaxing since the climate was so hot.

They of course missed the fact that the entire group, sans Clarissa and Chifuyu, had sneaked up on them when Laura was recounting on the strange eye shaped robot. They may not seem like it 9/10 times, but there was a reason they were part of the Shwarzer Hase.

Back to the point in hand: The trek to the base would take, at the very least, about 30-45 minutes just by walking. They came here by car, but that was gone as well. Everything in the immediate area seemed to have disappeared with the two of them being none the wiser.

Laura was content to walk back to the base without her footwear, but Ichika, being the gentleman that he is, refused that suggestion. And so, he did the only thing anybody in his position: He picked her up to carry her there.

In other words, he gave her the princess cradle.

A very dangerous technique that's existed since the dawn of time, the princess cradle dated back to as early as the days of the cavemen. Legend goes that the males carried females to their cave using this technique to woo them. This dangerous technique has been passed down from generation to generation, and eventually reached present time.

For the proud Laura, this technique was an insult to her. She was the one who carried allies out of scrapes, not the other way around. If she had a broken leg, she would inject herself with morphine and keep going. Walking for a half-hour barefoot was nothing to her.

Hence, the current situation right now.

"Ichika, put me down!" She barked out, using her authoritative tone. Nobody could resist doing what she said whenever she reached this point. Even Clarissa caved at times like this.

"No..."

Okay, maybe not.

"Wh-Why not!" She tried to once again aim for his head but he was expecting it this time and ducked under it again. She was getting somewhat predictable by now. Well, it was better than giving him the cold shoulder.

On a side note, he was glad that she was wearing pants and not a skirt. That would've made things extremely awkward.

"It takes 30 minutes to get back to the base and the entire area's filled with rocks." To emphasize his point, he kicked a small pebble with jagged edges into a far off area, "You'll probably injure yourself if you walk like this. Besides, it's not my fault you lost your shoes."

"I didn't lose them!" She gritted her teeth and tried to calm herself, "Somebody took them. I know they did. Footwear does not simply disappear when you discard them." She folded her arms across her rather small, pitiful, and completely flat chest.

"...Why do I suddenly feel like I've just been insulted?"

She had a hunch on who took them, and getting proof of it wouldn't be difficult. Oh, they were going to regret messing with her. They thought they were the only ones who could play jokes? Think again. There was a reason she was considered the best soldier both in and out of the training field.

Now, if only she remembered where she hid that stash of gunpowder.

"Doesn't matter. Your shoes are gone and I don't want you to have bleeding feet when we get back there." She glared at him again and he just smiled in response. He stopped taking her glares at face value by this point. She glared at everyone, so it wasn't anything special. He'd taken to thinking it was her way of smiling.

"I won't bleed. I have healing nano-machines in my body that accelerate my body's natural healing factor by ten times. Even my bodily fluids such as saliva contain them." She had a slight hint of pride in her voice, "Futhermore, my skin is tougher than most people. A bullet would have a hard time piercing my skin."

"Nano-machines and metal skin or no, you can still get hurt. Being shot by a bullet and getting an operation to fix it doesn't stop it from hurting." He pointed out.

Laura really wanted to shoot him down, but he had a point. She remembered her first bullet injury vividly. She nearly cried that day (Emphasis on nearly. Of course she didn't cry.). She wouldn't cry from something as minor as a bullet somehow piercing her abdomen.

But damn if it didn't hurt.

If she, with her augmented body and upgrades, felt that much pain, how could normal everyday soldiers survive multiple shots on their body? The human body was a truly remarkable thing.

"But...this is embarrassing..." Her face turned red again and her voice turned meek, losing its sharp edge from before.

"H-Hey, it's not that embarrassing." Ichika assured her, "I mean, it's not like we have any other choice, right? I don't think anyone will make fun of you for trying to avoid getting hurt." If somebody did, they would have to be seriously disturbed individuals.

"But..." She looked down and avoided staring at his face. Her face felt warm for some reason and she didn't want him to see her like that, "Can we at least...change positions?" She voiced out meekly.

Now this was surprising. She was asking him for his thoughts and approval and not ordering him to do it. Was the soldier princess starting to melt?

"Alright, any idea then, princess Laura?" Smack. Another hit, and this time it actually connected. Note to self, never mess with a flustered super soldier. It wasn't good for his health.

Laura coughed and ignored Ichika's pained face, "How about carrying me on your back instead? It's still embarrassing, but it's better than being carried like...this."

With a piggyback ride, she could at least save some face. After all, soldiers frequently did it in times of danger to save their allies and still retain the capability of firing their weapon. It was also more practical since it meant less shaking and risk of bullet damage.

"Huh, alright..." Ichika nodded. He didn't really get her logic or why she was so against being carried like this, but he didn't want to argue with her about it.

Ichika kneeled on the ground slowly and let her jump off herself, making sure to pick a relatively clear area. No sense in her getting injured after that spiel he just made.

"Alright, now climb on my back." He stuck out his arms in a carrying position.

Reluctantly, she climbed into his back again, circling her arms around his neck. Ichika was somewhat surprised by that; he expected her to make a run to the base the second he put her down.

"Alright, hang on." He placed his hands under her legs (ignoring the fact that they were still soft even through the fabric) and lifted her higher. Just like before she didn't seem to weigh much of anything. You'd think a super soldier designed for combat would be heavier for more stopping power.

With the problem dealt with, Ichika continued on his way forward to the base, which was now much easier when he didn't have to dodge attacks every three steps.

Looking back on it, he initially hated the prospect of coming here. Sure he was the one who insisted, but he didn't really look forward to meeting the...trainees(?). Chifuyu had purposely kept it vague as to what they would be doing there. Despite all that, he thought sticking with his sister would be far safer than being alone.

Oh, how wring he was.

Ever since he'd been here he'd been subjected to training from hell from his older sister, the other trainees staring at him all day no matter what he did (And, in one memorable instance, while he was on his way out of the bathroom), and a partner who seemed to fluctuate between shy and meek to threatening to blow his brains out if he did anything she didn't like.

Well, let it never be said that the life of Ichika Orimura was dull and uninteresting. Come to think of it, life back then wasn't that safe either. The only difference was that he had to dodge kendo sticks, katana's, and Chinese swords rather than bullets or kicks that could give him concussions.

That drowning incident from earlier certainly didn't help things. Nearly dying is never good for one's sanity and mental health. He wouldn't be surprised if he ended up becoming crazy or say things like 'people die when they're killed' if this kept up.

Laura herself was also a breath of fresh air. Despite all common sense telling him to stay away from the trigger-happy eyepatch girl, he'd actually managed to coax some friendship out of her. It wasn't perfect, but nothing in life was.

"...Hey ichika, say something." A voice interrupted his monologues, "It's really weird when you're so quiet. Usually you have something stupid to say or ask really obvious questions that even a 5 year old would know."

...Stupid? Really obvious questions even a five year old would know? No, Ichika's heart didn't just break and his face wasn't twitching. Anybody who thought otherwise should get their eyes and ears checked.

"And usually you do something that makes you look like an idiot by now. Like..." Laura glanced forward and pointed down, "There's an anthill over there filled with poisonous fire ants, You'll probably step on it in a few seconds and start jumping like an idiot trying to get rid of them before they infect you with their poison and slowly paralyze your body from the ins-"

"Laura, is there a reason you're saying all this?" Ichika interrupted, eye twitching. Was she getting revenge for teasing her earlier? Was that it? Because he would've someone who's been especially trained like her to be a professional like her would be more...well, professional.

"Huh? I just wanted you to say something. I didn't say anything else." Her voice sounded genuinely surprised, like she didn't just strike a blow to both his ego and intelligence and- Woah, nearly hit the fire ant nest!

Ichika quickly stepped to the side and gave the small hill a wide berth. Maybe he was just hallucinating, but he could've sworn he saw a green rectangular bar above the bigger one's. Okay, better not touch those.

"Alright, well..." He struggled to think of a topic. Things were pretty awkward now that they had nothing but the night air for company. Not even the sounds of the waves reached them anymore, which meant that they were getting close.

"Okay, stupid question, but why did you join the military?" He asked curiously.

No matter how you looked at it, Laura looked way too young to be a recruit for the military, let alone one of their star pupils. In fact, one could say the same thing about the entire Haze. While some of them looked the minimum age, he still saw 15-16 year olds running around with them. How did they not get slapped with Human Rights Violations?

"..." Laura didn't answer and the grip around his neck tightened slightly. He was afraid he might've offended her, "Well, I guess it's no secret." Though her reply was casual, her voice took on a slightly more forced tone, "I was born into it, I guess. I don't really know any other way."

"No other way?" Ichika looked down in thought, "Most soldiers are defenders of their home, but they also had lives outside of that. Family, friends, hobbies, whatever. Outside of their job, they're just normal everyday people...well, except for the crazy ones." He added at the end.

Crazies tend to include people like a guy who ran a pirate gang on a deserted island and frequently talked about the definition of insanity while another guy he kidnapped turned from a civilian who couldn't use a gun properly to a killing machine who could massacre entire camps of armed pirates with just a knife.

Laura really hated going on that mission. 'The definition of insanity' would forever remain engraved in her head after that incident.

"Well, it's more complicated than that," Okay, how was she supposed to explain this, "Well...do you know about cloning?"

"Uh, yeah. It's the process of copying a human being down to their DNA. Kind of like a printer for living things."

"Right," She nodded, "Cloning has been used for both experimentation and research since the past the early 2000's. Experiments on clones tend to be looked down on, but they aren't banned since people believe 'clones have no soul' and are therefore not technically alive."

"Are you saying you're a..." He couldn't finish his sentence. One part of him was afraid of the implications of what he was saying while the other was distracted by the lights getting closer and closer. They were almost at the base.

"A clone?" She laughed slightly, "Don't be silly. Clones are prone to problems such as rapid aging and body degradation. Not to mention that they tend to lack proper capacity to use any upgrades given to them.

Ichika breathed a sigh of relief when he heard her answer. It looked like his worries were all for nothing.

"No, I'm a test tube baby." She said this with remarkable casualness, like she was discussing the weather or commenting that the sky was blue.

"A...what?" Ichika wasn't very smart academically, and he would be the first to admit that, so it came as no surprise to him that he had no idea what she just said.

"Simply put: Babies that are made outside the body." She couldn't see it, but Ichika's eyes were wide open in shock, "Starting from 1978, test tube baby's became more and more popular for couple's who had a hard time pro-creating. However, they gained another use later on."

"Another use?" Ichika had a feeling he was going to dread hearing the answer to this question.

"You see, clones have a high chance of dying when experiments are performed on them. Without being born from both a mother and a father, their body's can't take the pressure and most end up dying. Test tube babies, on the other hand, can be ready made, provided you can find a woman who can wait on them for a year or so. Both the benefits and none of the loss."

"Except for breaking both the law and morals.." Ichika deadpanned.

"Laws and morals don't get results." Laura sounded like she was reciting from a handbook, "That's the justification for everything. I don't hate them for it. On the contrary, I wouldn't be alive if not for them. It was only because they wanted the perfect super soldier that I'm here."

"So...you're saying that's the reason you don't know anything outside the military?" Laura gave him a tap on the head, most likely meaning yes, "Then, can I ask you what they meant by the perfect super soldier?"

"The perfect soldier is one who always follows orders. Both a prodigy in physical and mental warfare, his/her capabilities exceed that of an ordinary by at least tenfold. However, their greatest strength lies in both their absolute loyalty and uflappable demeanor."

Ichika halted his advance and looked up the sky. Laura wondered what he was doing before he suddenly yelled out,

"You're not just a super soldier, you're Laura! Don't talk like you're just an experiment!" He yelled this out as loudest as he could. Thank the maker they were in the middle of nowhere.

The intensity in his voice shocked even her, "Wh-Why are you yelling!" She yelled in response.

"Well, I guess that means I can rest easy knowing it's not true." Ichika's voice suddenly relaxed and he quickened his pace.

"What does that mean?" Laura asked suspiciously.

"It means that they didn't make the perfect super soldier after all." He replied casually. A vein popped on Laura's forehead as she heard that. Was she calling him a failure now?

"So you're saying I'm a failure now?" The slight anger in her voice was unmistakable. It sounded different from her normal irritated tone.

"Let me ask you this: Who has the best performance in your group?"

"Me, of course!" Laura replied with obvious confidence. It didn't matter whether it was from physical fitness or mental aptitude, she had the best grades of them all.

"Alight, would you say you're loyal to your country?" He asked again.

"Of course I am! What kind of question is that?" She touched her eyepatch lightly, "It is because of them that I'm here, and I would give my life if they asked for it." She said this without a hint of shame or hesitation.

"And what would you do if I suddenly dropped you right now and made a run for it?" They were a few steps from the gate. Ichika could've let her down now without her being injured.

"I would kick you upside the head so hard you'd get a- KYAAAAHH!" Just as she was about to finish her answer, Ichika promptly dropped her butt first into the grassy ground before running for the gates, laughing as he went.

"Come back here!" Laura yelled in a rage, chasing after the Japanese teen, "I said get back here!"

"What will you do if I stop!" As he continued to run, it became quite obvious he wasn't taking this the least bit seriously. Laura was faster than him by a landslide, but the headstart gave him a huge advantage.

"I'm going to ram my foot up your a-

***Honk*** ***Honk***

A duck family in the distance suddenly quaked in terror. Something was wrong, there was a...disturbance.

"No thanks, I'll take my chances!" Ichika yelled back with a huge grin on his face.

"Aaaargh, get back here!" This was completely unlike her. Normally she'd be calm and organized, maybe set a trap or two here and there to help her catch him. What she didn't expect to do was run around sans footwear yelling curses upon curses at him as he continued to somehow evade her grasp.

The chase continued on for quite a bit. Neither of them knew how long, but by the time it finished they were both on the ground panting in exhaustion from the effort.

" .You." Laura ground out between bated breaths. This was the first time in month's she'd even been out of breath at anything. Even worse, it was because she lost her cool.

"And that!" He collapsed on his back, staring up at the sky, "Is my proof right there!" The grin hadn't disappeared from his face. She really wanted to wipe it off him.

"Of what exactly?" She sat down next to him and looked up at the sky too. The stars thankfully illuminated the area, so they could see relatively well.

"Like I said: You're more than just the perfect soldier, you're Laura too."

"And what is your so called proof?" She questioned dubiously. Unless he managed to pull medical records out of his bum, there was no way he could disprove that.

"You just did it" He held up his pointer finger, "A super soldier is known for always being calm and collected along with having an unflappable demeanor."

"Yes, and what does that have to do with anything?"

"Simple really" He stood up slightly and turned to face her, "A super soldier wouldn't have gotten mad if I dropped her. We were already at the base, so she would've just continued on. Laura would've gotten mad and threatened to kill me even if she was in her underwear and with no weapons. Now, which one did you do?"

Confusion turned to realization, realization turned to anger, and anger turned into embarrassment. She had fallen for his trap. Her, the one who had decoded a terrorist cipher on her spare time and once made a strategy to beat even her own Commander, was fooled into playing along his ridiculous scheme.

"Th-Th-Th-That doesn't count!" She denied hotly, face steaming red from embarrassment, "I-It only proves that you're so annoying that anyone would be bothered by you!"

"That still proves my point. A super soldier would've just ignored me and keep going. You would've tried to kill me. Seeing as you didn't ignore me when I dropped you, I'd say there's a flaw in your logic."

"Th-That's Mpgh Gah!" Oh no, she was reverting to gibberish. He was already getting close, too close for comfort. The professionalism was vanishing and she was starting to act like an idiot.

Abruptly, she stood up from her spot on the ground and tried to go past him. She needed to think on this, to try and calm down before she did something she was going to regret.

And she would've succeeded, had he not grabbed her by the wrist and pulled.

"Fwah!" She toppled backwards, landing awkwardly right on top of him. Instead of placing her back next to him, he circled his arms around her and held her close.

"I-Ichika, what are you-"

"Shooting stars!" He pointed up and Laura couldn't resist looking. Sure enough, he was telling the truth.

Dozen's of bright blue ray came down onto the earth, showering the night sky with their bright light. With the light, she could see everything in the camp, from the target practice to the bunk room.

What she could see the best of all, however, was Ichika.

Despite holding her in a typical lovers embrace, he just continued to stare up to the sky with a bright, oblivious smile on his face. He was unaware how uncomfortable he was making her. He was so close, and she couldn't do anything about it.

"Laura, did you make a wish?" Ichika looked down at her with a smile, leaning close. Their faces were only millimeters apart, and one push was all it would take for them to make contact.

The next part came as a blur. All she remembered were the falling lights, the shocked expression on Ichika's face, and the feeling of his lips on hers. She was on top of him, though she didn't know why.

She'd wanted to do this for a while now. All those close calls, all those times she had to back away when she had the chance. All those times when she acted hostile towards him to mask everything. All of that came crashing down. She didn't care anymore.

One thing she noticed was that he tasted sweet. She couldn't explain it; it just made her want more and more. She was aware that she was being a disgrace as a soldier, but she wasn't a soldier right now, she was Laura.

She felt intoxicated. She wanted more and was going to get it. Forcing his lips apart, she pressed the kiss deeper till they could hardly breath. She could do this forever. She wanted to do this forever. It felt like nothing else mattered.

And then the bright lights disappeared.

All the feeling of boldness disappeared. Reality came crashing down on her, and it wasn't what she wanted to see. Laura quickly separated herself from the stunned boy beneath her, a look of bewilderment on her face. She pressed her hands into her lips softly, unable to speak a word.

She stood up and ran back to the bunkhouse, and this time Ichika didn't stop her.

Ichika himself was also at a daze. What had just happened? Did she just? Did he?

*Ring* *Ring*

Praising the phone for a distraction of what just happened, he picked it up from his pocket and checked the message.

"Ichika, me and Clarissa are in town. Meet us over here. Laura should know how to use one of the vehicles there, so both of you go here together."

With a groan, Ichika collapsed back into the ground. Could things get any more tense?

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**Well, first kiss done. I was tired of blowing it off, so here it is. **

**Updating Future Imperfect next. Please don't forget to read and review. Oh, and cookie for whoever gets the reference.  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Next "plot filled" chapter (for a given definition of the word). After this I'll be making a filler chapter with some romance or fluff. Then again, given that I'm bad at romance, it probably won't be that good. Wish me luck.**

**Anyway, this chapter will have a bit of a role reversal compared to the usual. Ichika's not a complete blockhead, no matter how dense he acts.**

**As you may or may not know, I am bad at writing action scenes and tend to avoid them whenever possible. Seeing as this is a rom-com story, any big fights will either take place off-screen or get glossed over quickly. **

**Lastly: The new laptop I got is wonky. It keeps changing words around after I save the work, making it hard since it switches them from past to present tense and vice versa at times. If you see any sentences that keep switching tenses, please inform me so I can change it. I don't have time to re-read everything when I have to open files. Any spelling mistakes are my own.**

* * *

Ichika was used to awkward situations.

Unfortunately, nothing in life can prepare you to sharing a car with a person who spontaneously kissed you and then ran off without a second thought. Even worse when the car is small and you barely have any space to work around in. He had to constantly look out the window to make sure she didn't get the wrong idea that he was staring at her perversely.

He had tried earlier to get her to talk about what happened, but she would either ignore him outright or make thinly veiled threats to get him to keep quiet. Seriously, how was he supposed to react when the same person who kissed him earlier was the same person casually remarking on how perfect her new knife would be on someone of his body type? Jeez, even his friend Keima Katsuragi would get stumped in a situation like this.

Well, it at least gave him enough time to think about how he'd gotten here.

Being the little brother of Chifuyu Orimura; publicly known as Champion of the first Mondo Grosso, would be champion of the second Mondo Grosso, Japan's former representative, Brunhilde, teacher of IS academy and yada yada yada (it was a long list), he had a lot to live up to. He had to constantly watch himself and pay attention to every little thing he did. Apparently, any mistake he made was blown back to her to a lesser extent. Of course, this never occurred the other way around.

That kidnapping incident changed a lot of things for the two of them. The brush with death (or so Chifuyu thought) made the two siblings closer to one another. Well, closer in the sense that Chifuyu became ultra paranoid with making sure he wasn't in any danger (except from her).

When Chifuyu got a position to be an IS instructor in Germany for one year (which was odd since he'd never seen her actually teach any of the others how to pilot at all in the time he was here), she insisted that he go to a boarding school in order to keep himself safe. Needless to say, the fact that she insisted she had a friend in Sweden who owed her a favor and would allow him to school for free for the year didn't appeal to him.

The only other option open to him was to go with her to Germany. While that also didn't appeal to him at all, it was better than being stuck in some kind of foreign school with no one around. She also mentioned France as a possible option in order to dissuade him from going with her. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what his answer was.

Was the idea of going to a foreign country all alone with nothing but the clothes on his back really appealing? He honestly never found anything good about it, no matter how many fancy schools he was offered to go to. Was she really planning to send him to some kind of rich people school called Saint Lucia? No thanks, he'd rather take his chances here.

Or at least, that's what he thought.

When he heard Chifuyu say "teach them about military techniques", he thought of men and women in their 20's up in prim and fit physical condition. They would ignore him and pay attention only to Chifuyu, occasionally making conversation with him if they needed to chat. Ichika would pass his days either doing his own thing or visiting any nearby town to see if there was anything interesting.

Oh, how wrong he was.

The first sign that he took notice of what was odd was that the commanding officer was female. Now, this wasn't odd on its own, especially now that the IS came, but most squads were still segregated by gender. Okay, maybe this was one of those mixed squads, he thought to himself. No problem, he could deal with that.

The second thing he noticed was odd was the commanding officer's (Clarissa, now that he remembered) age was extremely young. As a rule, commanding officer's tended to be older than their recruits, or at least that's what he had heard from Dan before. Clarissa couldn't have been past her early 20's. In fact, she mentioned that she was 21, just slightly younger than his older sister! What was up with that? He still didn't think too much of it then.

That's when he noticed the third and most odd thing there: There were only girls in the camp! Young one's too!

One look into the bunkhouse and he immediately got rooted to the spot and refused to walk in. Chifuyu had to drag him inside kicking and screaming (well, it was more screaming than kicking) just when he was starting to consider boarding school a nice idea. France was nice this time of year.

In hindsight, he should've realized something was wrong when she told him to pack only the minimum required amount of jeans and a lot of jogging pants. She told him that he would end up joining them for some of their exercises. He wanted to question how a teenager like him could keep up with someone far older than him. Well, he had his answer soon enough.

She also told him that he would end up doing a lot of running. Somehow, he didn't think she meant the jogging that all of them did and more on the running he had to do whenever someone stole the clothes he used when taking a shower. Oh haha, pick on the new guy why don't you? They were just making fun of the new meat, he saw it in manga before.

Of course, since when did sniffing his clothes become part of messing with him, he didn't know. They were probably just trying to freak him out or something. Yeah, that's it. The blushing faces and the...drooling was just a figment of his imagination. Probably because Dan kept showing him erotic video's whenever he came over. He really shouldn't have invited him over so many times. At least when he went to Dan's place Ran all but kept him from doing anything deemed too inappropriate.

The fact that they were attractive teenage girls just made things even worse. The oldest one was probably no older than 18; 19 if he was being generous. He knew he didn't have a snowballs hell in chance with any of them (to start with, they still haven't stopped stealing his clothes), but being the one guy in a place like this and having to share a bunkroom with all of them was...uncomfortable.

That's when he met Laura.

Laura was probably the youngest person there bar none. She was 14, an age he himself shared, but her attitude and demeanor gave her the appearance of an experienced soldier. He had to stop himself from standing up and saluting whenever she gave him an order.

Despite this, he did find the German super soldier cute...what? It was true! She had a doll like cuteness about her and her rare moments of embarrassment emphasized it even more. He even built a habit of teasing her just to see that cherry redness that would overtake her face and the stammering fit she got into afterwards when she tried to explain herself.

Of course, most of these followed with him being on the receiving end of a haymaker or an attempted kick, which led to him getting patched up by one of the other recruits. They at least had the decency not to pull pranks on an injured person.

To sum up Laura in one word, he would use the term 'complicated'. Sure, she didn't bully him or stare at him like the others did, but she was far from the nicest girl there. At least the others pretended to act like they did nothing wrong. Laura was as blunt as a hammer, and punched like one too. He couldn't count the number of times he wanted to tear his hair out with the number of mixed messages she kept giving him.

Did she hate him? It seemed pretty sure that she did, what with refusing to look at him 9/10 times during the whole week together when they were paired. Did she think he was some kind of diabolic mastermind who planned to pair up with her from the beginning? He was flattered, but he was far from being that type of person.

On the other hand, did she like him? That blushing and stuttering wasn't fake, and neither were the rare moments that they did get along or the smiles he saw on her face. As far as he could tell, she didn't really interact with the other members of the group; even he chatted with some of them on his free time. Whenever break time hit, he'd see her wander off someplace secluded and stat by her lonesome. Despite her supposed hatred for him, she'd stopped doing it and even made the occasional reference to the weather.

Then there was the kiss-

*SCREEECH*

Ichika was knocked out of his reverie by the sudden sound of the car stopping and his forehead hitting the dashboard. Since the car was smaller and made of denser materials, sudden breaks and crashes barely dented it at all. Unfortunately, anything else that hit it didn't get this protection, body parts included.

*Thunk*

Rubbing his aching forehead, he turned to the left and looked at Laura, "Wh-Why did you stop? He winced when a dull ache started to spread over his entire forehead_, 'Doesn't this thing come with airbags or anything? This thing is a road hazard._

Laura, however, didn't look like she was in the mood for questions. She was looking down the wheel and her hands were gripping it tightly, causing her already pale skin to go paler than usual, "Y-You...just said kiss right then, didn't you?" She looked like she was contemplating murder, which honestly wouldn't have surprised him at this point. The knife she had strapped to her thigh (which he had to admit looked really hot) was glistening very menacingly at him, like it wanted to rip apart in his skin and taste his blood with it's cold hard spikes.

Wait, did he say kiss? No, he was pretty sure he was just monologuing about how his life got to this point and why things were so complicated right now. He was pretty sure he wasn't thinking about the kiss the two of them shared, under that convenient star shower, or how her lips tasted like cherry's and how soft they- Damn it, focus!

"Uh...K-Kiss? No, of course not!" The knife glinted at him again, causing another wave of sweat to go down his aching forehead, "I...I was just saying you look like a real...Miss in those clothes of yours. You know, older and all!"

He was referring to her abrupt change in wardrobe. Chifuyu had sent him a follow up text to dress up like civilians, supposedly so they don't gather attention to themselves. For Ichika, it was as simple as pulling out a pair of black jeans and a long sleeved white shirt before he was ready to go.

Laura's situation, on the other hand, was a little more complicated. She'd never actually gone to the town before, let alone go there with anyone else. if need be, she would drive the car, but she wouldn't leave and would always wait inside as to not gather attention to herself. This being the case, she had nothing but casual white shirts and jogging pants, which, unfortunately, had the insignia of the Haze in it.

As she was about to resign herself to going out in said clothing, the other members came to her rescue (though Laura would call it harassment). They'd all pitched in to give her, as they would call it, "Cute and fashionable clothing that will make Ichika drool with the hotness" (No joke, that's what they actually called it). After much kicking, screaming, knife tossing, Russian roulette, shoot outs, and blind magic tricks (which unfortunately couldn't be written about in more detail since it wasn't deemed important enough) they finally managed to get Laura into the long named outfit set.

Ichika had to admit: He nearly did let some saliva fall through when he first saw her. It wasn't anything fancy or anything: A sleeveless snow white blouse, a black skirt that barely reached her thighs, and a pair of open to black heels to make her look slightly taller (She also managed to get her black knife strap on her thigh). It was clothing he'd seen his female classmates wear on occasion when they went out to the mall with friends. Nothing special, but the way she looked when she wore it was...he couldn't explain it.

Back at the car, Laura was currently giving him a suspicious glare. Her hearing was absolutely perfect, and she was sure that he didn't say Miss. She could tell he wanted to talk about what happened earlier and casual threats wouldn't keep him from asking about it sooner or later. As a regular person in such a precarious situation, the first instinct would be to nip the problem at the bud before things got worse.

As a soldier, though, she was taught never to engage an enemy if it wasn't an absolute necessity and/or she had the surprise advantage. Seeing as she had neither right now, and that she had other orders to go to the town and find Clarissa and the instructor, she chose the wise choice and chose to go on the tactical retreat. One who lives and runs away lives to fight another day.

"...I'll take your word on that. After all, you have no reason to lie to me," Ichika breathed a small sigh of relief at her answer, and an even bigger one when she started the car again and the knife stopped its abnormal glinting.

With the car started again, the soon to be couple lapsed back into uncomfortable silence. Unlike before, there was no possible way anyone could interrupted. The road was rocky road was devoid of any life (which looked kinda creepy), and only the two of them were on the car. No interruptions, no chance of getting bothered no matter what.

Ichika looked out the window and only saw the inky blackness waiting outside. Was this some kind of sign? Was the universe itself telling him that he should focus on who was in the car with him rather than find something in order to distract himself?

Universe or no, he really needed to talk to her about it. With that thought in his head, he started the eventual conversation, "So...do you want to talk about-"

"Did you know that you can shoot a 14 year old about 50 times before-"

"They start choking on their own blood?" Ichika interrupted her, much to her surprise, "Yeah, you told me that about three times this trip. That and the threat about your knife, how many broken bones you can give a person, and how you can choke someone using their own seatbelt. Frankly, I'm surprised you haven't mentioned burying someone alive yet."

Okay, the time for casual threats was over. She had to make it more explicit, "Well, if someone doesn't stop bothering me, then I might be tempted to try out some of them." She turned to the right and gave him a glare, "And look, there's only one other person here. I wonder who I'll decide to try it on if someone doesn't stop talking."

Argh, she was always like this! One minute she was acting shy and demure, and next she was practically threatening to castrate him if he so much as talked. Had he not heard her explanation of being a super soldier, he would've thought she was some kind of crazy bipolar pyscho.

"Hey, let's get one thing straight," He said, voice rising in indignation, "You kissed me, not the other way around. I wasn't even doing anything before-"

"T-That was an accident!" He braced himself for another abrupt brake which, fortunately, never came. Good, he thought he was going to get a concussion at the rate things were going, "It...It was only because I was getting emotional and frustrated. B-B-Besides, it's not like it was anything serious or anything!"

"An accident? You practically pushed me down and wouldn't let me breath! And what do you mean it wasn't serious!" His face turned red, but it wasn't because of anger, "Th-That was my first kiss, you know! E-Even if you say it's not serious for you, it is for me! I mean, you probably already lost yours-"

*SCREECH*

*Thunk*

_'...I hate this car.'_ He couldn't finish his sentence on account of his head meeting the dashboard for the second time that night. His face was getting really well acquainted with it. At the rate they were going, they'd be dating pretty soon, which would be an improvement over his situation with Laura.

...Great, now he was just being an idiot.

Still, the aching forehead (which was dangerously close to a concussion) couldn't come close to what Laura was about to say.

"Th...That was my first kiss too! Y-You're not the only one who lost something, so don't act like you're the victim here!" She yelled out, completely ignoring she was the one who initiated it.

Did any of you hear an explosion? That was the sound of Ichika's mind blowing up on itself. Whatever he was going to say or ask her was promptly forgotten as his brain (metaphorically) drained out of his ears. The pain in his forehead was practically gone at this point, replaced by the empty headed feeling of his skull being vacated of its only tenant.

He wasn't the only one experiencing problems. Laura's entire head was covered in a dark shade of red and the beginnings of tears were starting to well up on both of her exposed irises. Were Ichika not brain dead, he would've commented on how cute she looked. Unfortunately, he was still staring blankly outside with the same empty eyed expression he adopted.

Seeing as Ichika wasn't going to start talking anytime soon, Laura pressed on the foot pedal and started the car again. Even if she hated the heels she was given for their impracticality and exposure, she had to admit that the heels added height made driving a lot more easy compared to before. The car was already modified to be piloted by any member of the group, and it was embarrassing when she still had to struggle to reach the pedal at times.

"Y-You know, it's not like I did it because I like yo- randomly kissing people or anything," She continued, ignoring Ichika's catatonic expression, "I...I don't really know what happened. It just felt like...argh, I don't know how to explain it!"

Ichika didn't reply, he didn't even so much as blink at her outburst. Words came out of her mouth, but all he could hear were distant echoes. Yes, he was probably being a bit overdramatic, but damn it he had the right to be! If it was only his first kiss then it would've been fine, but it was hers as well! D-Did that mean he had to take responsibility? Technically, she was the one who initiated the...contact, so wouldn't she be the one who had to take responsibility?

Wait. As the guy, shouldn't he be the one taking responsibility in a situation like this? Even if there were some things that changed in the social structure, females on average still haven't changed their views on how relationships worked. In this case taking responsibility usually meant-

The scene changed. The small interior of the car melted away only to be replaced by the wooden walls of what appeared to be a bedroom. Everything was hazy, he couldn't focus on anything other than the bed in front of him. Wait, since when was there a bed? Things came and went, disappearing and appearing in turn. The only thing that was constant was the bed.

That and its lone occupant.

"Ichika, please be gentle." For some unfathomable reason, Laura was there. Except she was missing something crucial, something she needed to function normally in society: Her clothes. She laid there, naked as the day she was born. Her snow white skin, which was normally exposed only through slight crevices on her casuals, was laid completely bare before him.

He gulped hard and looked away, trying to keep himself (and a certain part of him) from paying too much attention to the naked girl blushing on the bed. How did he get here? All he remembered was sitting on the car, and then...nothing. It was like he got teleported here or something, something he knew was impossible in anything other than cheap sci-fi manga's.

Laura wouldn't be what you would call curvy. Indeed, her physique looked young and fit, which any soldier would probably be glad about. Now, however, she might have been the most beautiful girl in the world. The curves of her waist and the slight slope on her chest were just tantalizing enough that he'd want to look closer, while her innocent appearance discouraged any idea's he could ever have of taking advantage of her. Granted, she could probably murder him 10 times over if he tried anything, but it's the thought that counts.

Why was he getting so flustered? He was never usually aware of these kinds of things and growing up with people like Houki, Tabane, and even his own sister made him used to seeing large chests and...mature body types as he was growing up. Yet here he was getting flustered over her. Was...Was he a lolicon! Oh God, Dan was right! He really did go over to the dark side!

Were this any other media, he would've yelled "NOOOOOOOOOO!" at the top of his lungs while overdramatic lightning played in the background. Seeing as this was just a cheap daydream, however, he had to settle for the blood draining from his face and feeling lightheaded.

Seeing that he wasn't going to make a move, 'Laura' grabbed hold of his head and forced him to face her, "Ichika, don't look away when I'm talking to you!" Her hot breath, which smelled oddly of cherry, washed over him. Damn it, she was too close, way too close! Another couple of inches and the two of them would practically be making out again. Not that the idea of that didn't appeal to him.

"I'm...I'm looking at you..." He managed to breath out in a soft whisper. He faced her and stared at her ruby red eyes, trying to ignore the temptation of looking down to go sightseeing on the small hills. Her straightforward attitude certainly wasn't helping things at all.

"Good..." Her blush intensified and she leaned in closer, lips puckering in anticipation, "You have to take responsibility. You will, won't you?" How was he supposed to refuse when she asked him point blank like that! It's like being shown a puppy and being given the choice to pet it or kick it: There's only one choice that doesn't make you look like an ass.

Closing his eyes, he slowly leaned in closer as well. It wasn't like he had anything left to lose at this point. She already kissed him once, so what was the harm in doing it a second time? He had to admit that he had a slight crush on her. Crazy, right? She was loud, foul mouthed, constantly angry, and probably bipolar. And, oddly enough, he was okay with that. She wasn't perfect, but neither was he.

She was probably one of the only few people who treated him like an individual. Houki saw him in an idolized light, a childhood friend she could trust to protect her and always be there for her. Rin saw him as a knight in shining armor since he used to risk himself in order to help her when she was in trouble, an image she clung onto in all the years they were friends. Even Ran, his best friend's little sister, looked at him with sparkles in her eyes as the 'cool senpai', even when he had no idea how he got that image.

Laura, throughout all her insults and bipolar reactions, was honest. She called him by name with the same tone she used against everyone. Even when she idolized Chifuyu she didn't let it affect her treatment of him, something he honestly found very refreshing from the usual 'let's not offend him since his sister might get mad at us' attitude most people seemed to possess. Say what you will about her actions against him, but there was no doubt in his mind that they were genuine and not some due to some kind of mask or self image she put up.

After his internal monologue, it only took a couple of seconds before his lips made contact with hers. Something was strange, however. The softness he expected was missing, and in its place was an icy feeling that made his lips numb. The taste of cherry's were gone as well, and what he tasted instead was...plastic? What was going on?

"Ichika...are you alright?

His eyes opened and he instantly backed away in shock. What he was kissing (and subsequently left a drool mark on) was in fact the window of the car. Had he been hallucinating everything? All of that was an...illusion? It seemed so real. The sweet but tantalizing smell of her breath, the shy stare she gave him when she asked him to take responsibility, and even the soft feeling of her skin on his- Going down a bad road again!

Laura gave him an odd stare and got out of the car. They'd already been in the town for about 5 minutes and she'd been trying to get him to go out of the car first. She didn't have much luck and had to concede with simply waiting for him to get out of whatever delusion he was in to subside. She'd already tried whispering in his ear and even smacking him (relatively) lightly at the back of the head. Not even a single flinch.

Scratching the back of his head (which was oddly painful), he followed her out of the car and faced the small town.

It was nothing fancy: Some small wooden buildings, some bigger one's made out of brick, and a few establishments where people could find entertainment. The entire place had a 'blast to the past' feeling about it, which was probably what the creators built it for. Despite the dated designs, it had a feeling of comfort that couldn't be found anywhere else.

Laura walked towards the town, Ichika trekking on behind her. The old style street lights dotting the bricked paths were the only lights they had. While this had the effect of making some of the area's look grim and desolate, it also added a sort of serene calmness to it all.

At the base, the area was usually filled with either obstacle course equipment or fake weaponry the soldiers used for target practice. No matter what he did, Ichika could never find himself calming down and accepting that nothing was wrong. He was born and raised as a civilian his entire life, so the change in environment was uncomfortable for him.

Here, however, he could finally find some peace. There were other people on the streets ranging from older men and women taking walks, children playing games with each other, and even some couples who were using the calming effect of the town for some romantic endeavors. Nobody paid attention to either of them, which made sense to him since travelers and tourists coming and going was probably an extremely common sight for them.

At the side of the path, some vendors were selling their wares towards anyone who would listen. Most of them were common things like sweets and accessories; things that most couples, friends, and families would buy for one another. Then there were the odd things like stalls selling armors and even some blades and weaponry. He idly noticed that most people avoided those stalls, much to the salesman's dismay. He couldn't blame them to be completely honest.

While Ichika was feeling better the longer he spent here, the opposite could be said for Laura. Walking forward with the heels on made it harder for the silver haired soldier and she had to slow her pace. something she detested doing. What if someone suddenly attacked her? These stupid shoes could be the difference between life and death.

The building's materials bothered her as well. All they were made of were wood and bricks. In her experience, while those materials were good against bullets, they were especially weak to explosives and combustion. A single grenade blast and any cover she had would be torn to a million pieces, rendering her completely open and vulnerable.

Lastly, and most importantly, the amount of people there were. At the base, she knew everyone, their strengths and weaknesses, and even their specific fighting styles to the slight variations they used. Here, anyone was a potential enemy. Age wasn't a factor. That child asking her to help look for her toy could be an assassin sent to kill her. It wouldn't be the first time it happened.

"So...where are we going?" Ichika broke the silence, "Chifu- Instructor Orimura said you'd know where to go once we got here."

*Sigh* "Unfortunately, yes ," She shook her head and pursed her lips, "I haven't entered the town before, but the same thing always happens when Clarissa goes here." He waited for her to elaborate on whatever she meant but she just kept quiet and continued walking. It must've been something either extremely personal or extremely embarrassing.

The two of them followed the straightforward path till they eventually made it to a small wooden establishment. Even if Ichika couldn't read German, the giant bottle of wine that was drawn on the front hanging sign gave him enough of an idea of what exactly the building was. Well, that and the smell of sweet grapes that wafted out the door.

With some slight hesitation, the two of them entered the small establishment. Their entrance was marked by the sound of the entrance bell clinking slightly and the yellowish light of the candlelit interior washing over them.

The bartender, a well dressed spiky brown haired Caucasian man who appeared to be about 20, was quick to welcome them, "Welcome Sir and Madam, would you like an- Oh." He gave them a quick once over and shook his head with a tut, "Sorry guys, no underage drinking. I know we don't have a bouncer outside and all since his circuits need some repairs, but that doesn't mean anyone can go in here and get a drink." He told them, switching the overtly formal tone from earlier to a casual one.

"Oh no, we're not here to drink," Ichika shook his hands wildly and denied it, "We're looking for a couple of people. Um, a Japanese woman and a German woman."

"Yeah, I think I know who you're talking about," He gave a sigh and pointed to a small table at the corner of the small bar containing three people, "I've never seen Joshua talk so much about something that isn't the bible or some kind of redemption in the eyes of the lord. Your friend there must be something. Well, don't let me bother you. Go ahead and go meet your friend. Hey, do me a favor: Tell Joshua I'll be out back checking on ED-E."

Nodding slowly at the muttering bartender, Ichika gestured for Laura to follow him. The yellow light of the bar was extremely relaxing and he found his eyes drooping slightly with each step he took. Even the laughter that constantly echoed everywhere gave him a feeling of relaxation. Something was keeping him awake, though: The leers the other customer's were giving them, or, to be more precise, Laura.

Other than Chifuyu and Clarissa, Ichika didn't see any other female customers. By the scent of alcohol in the air, it was highly probable that many - if not all of the - patrons were probably drunk of their minds. He had to keep them from going near Laura. The way she was dressed, most drunks would probably take it as a sign she was trying to get their attentions and try to make contact. He had to keep that from happening no matter the cost.

Who knew what she would do to them once Laura got mad! If they were lucky, they would probably get a away with a few bruises and possibly a sprain or two. But Laura had been feeling agitated all night, something Ichika had taken note of a while ago, and she might do something she'd regret if one of them came up and tried flirting with her. Those poor guys would be broken if Ichika just let it happen.

Quickening his pace, it didn't take long for him to reach the table where his sister, Clarissa, and some bandaged figure wearing a Salt Lake P.D uniform were slowly sipping their drinks.

"Ah~ Laura and Ichika~ Glad you could make it~!" Clarissa slurred as she downed her drink in one gulp. Beside her, Chifuyu gave a disapproving shake while the bandaged figure emitted a small sigh.

Considering the two women were going on a casual outing, Clarissa insisted on the two of them wearing something better than shirts and a pair of pants. Chifuyu chose to be on the safe side and wore a black summer suit that covered up a reasonable amount of skin. Clarissa, deciding there was no problem with dressing up, wore a sleeveless blue dress and some cloth to cover her bare shoulders. Many of the men were openly leering at her, but kept away due to both Chifuyu and the figure's (most likely the Joshua the bartender mentioned) sharp glares.

"Instructor, what is the situation? Is something wrong?" Laura asked, always at the ready. She'd brought her knife just in case something was wrong.

"Nothing's wrong. I just thought you two lovebirds needed some time off is all. You two have been working pretty hard the past week."

Did you hear that second explosion? That was the sound of Laura's mind blowing up on itself. To her, Instructor Orimura was a person to be idolized. Someone you could look up to without a single regret. To hear her say something so...blasphemous was like a strike to the heart for the silver haired beauty.

Just as Ichika was about to deny her accusations for the umpteenth time in a row, trouble came in the form of a drunken patron shambling over to them. Based on the fact that he reeked of alcohol all over and he stumbled every third step, it would probably be safe to say that he was fully hammered. Ironic, considering that he wore a police uniform.

"Hey Little girl~ Why don't you spend some time with me and my friends?" He grasped Laura's shoulder tightly and tried to drag her over to the table where a couple of other men in uniform were cheering their friend on.

Ichika closed his eyes and covered his ears and prepared for the worst. Any second now he was going to hear the sounds of cracking bones and voices screaming in agony about the extreme pain they were in. Laura had been in an angry mood all night and she was looking for anybody stupid enough to anger her to vent her frustration on.

That's right, any second now...

Any moment...

...

...What was going on?

Everything was quiet. Even the jovial laughing that was a constant background noise the minute he entered the shop was gone. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw something unexpected. Number 1 was the fact that the cop (or at least he assumed he was) wasn't nursing broken bones or numerous painful injuries. Number 2 was that his hand wasn't grasping Laura's shoulder anymore but was being held tightly and pulled back by a bandaged hand.

"It is a sin to think adulterous thoughts when you have made previous commitments. You have a wife waiting for you, do you not?" Joshua/The bandaged figure pulled the man's arm back painfully with his left hand while reading a bible on his right, "Thou shalt not commit adultery. This is the 7th commandment of the lord and one of the most simple to follow. You made a promise to your wife to be with her through the good and the ill, a promise you should keep."

Ichika's jaw dropped slightly as he made his way to Laura and pulled her away towards the table. The cop wasn't looking very happy and Laura was still staring at the wall blankly for whatever reason. He sat her down next to Chifuyu and stared at the scene in front of him.

"I don't need any lessons from a fucking mummy!" Even through the bandages, he could smell the thick scent of alcohol and vomit. He'd been here a while, "Promise with her? What a load of shit! That bitch doesn't do anything but yell at me and tell me how useless I am since I'm just a 'rent-a cop on minimum wage'."

"That is your problem, not hers, " He replied flatly, pointing at Laura, "If you want to make peace with your wife, then I suggest leaving the child out of this and looking for solutions elsewhere. Pray to the Lord for Guidance and you may receive it. He welcomes all of us, even the sinners."

The cop (let's call him Frank) didn't take kindly to the veiled insults (to him) and pulled the gun out of his holster onto the bandaged preacher's head, "You know what? I'm sick and tired of getting called an idiot at my house, at work, and even here! Now get out of my way before I pull the fucking trigger and do something we'll both regret!"

It was the alcohol talking. Natural emotions such as happiness, sadness, and especially anger were amplified the more one drank. Humans could do things they would never even dream of doing under the influence of alcohol and other beverages that hampered thinking and cognition.

Things like pulling a gun out on a crowded bar filled to the brim with drunks.

Surprisingly, Joshua didn't even so much as flinch at the threat, "You are right: You will regret pulling that trigger," His voice had taken on a more dangerous tone, "The Lord may forgive your transgressions, but I will not. You already tried to break one of his commandments tonight. If you pull that trigger, you will be breaking another, something that I cannot ignore."

Chifuyu's eyes narrowed dangerously and she stood up slightly, grabbing the knife from Laura's holster. The way things were going, no one was going to get out of this unscathed, "Ichika, take Laura and go out the back." He looked like he wanted to protest, but Chifuyu just held out her palm to stop him, "Look, things are tense now. When I tell you, you run. Got it?"

He nodded nervously and grabbed onto Laura's shoulders, who was finally gaining back her awareness now that her knife was taken from her. He couldn't help but notice that Clarissa didn't even seem slightly worried and just stared at the scene.

Frank was teetering dangerously close to the edge. If he fired that shot, the entire bar, not just the two of them, would get into a fight. In tense atmospheres, it doesn't matter who fired the first shot. Everyone and anyone would be targeting everybody else.

"Yeah, and you think I care if a dead man forgives me? You may look like a mummy, but you ain't fucking immortal!" He pressed the gun tighter against his head, finger itching closer to the trigger. One push, one push was all it would take to shut him up for good.

"If that is what you believe, then shoot. I will warn you now that you should-"

*BANG*

Whatever warning he was going to make was drowned out by the sound of the gun firing. The pistol was aimed right at his head and fired at point blank range. Ignition burns stained the white bandages, but they paled in comparison to the blood. It came out in a large burst, covering the floor behind him in a deep shade of dark red and staining his clothing with their murkiness.

Ichika felt his breath hike up on his throat. He had just seen a man murdered in a fit of rage, something he thought he'd never see anywhere except dramatic TV shows. He wanted to vomit, to run out of here right now and never look back. It was only his sister's warning that kept him from doing so.

Oh God, he needed to get Laura and himself out of here now. He needed to-

"- Make your first shot count. You won't get a second."

...Huh?

Joshua's body didn't slump down as life left him, nor did his posture even change at all. The only indication that he even got shot was that he flinched slightly from the impact. Other than that, he looked no worse for the wear.

Everyone in the bar, even Chifuyu, went slack jawed as he continued talking like nothing happened. The blood still stained the floor behind him and the bullet had obviously passed through, and yet he stood there as if nothing had happened. Ichika felt his breath come back to him and the urge to vomit go down. He didn't witness a killing after all.

Beside Chifuyu, Clarissa was giggling to herself, "I told you he could take shots to the head! Ha, you owe me a fifty Euro's for that!"

Shaking in surprise, Frank tried to fire a shot a second time, but Joshua grabbed his gun and pulled it towards him, making Frank lose his grip on it. With quick precision, he took out the magazine and disassembled the barrel, leaving the gun in pieces.

"I told you that you wouldn't get a second shot." He grabbed Frank and punched him hard in the gut, causing blood to spew out of the unfortunate man's mouth. Frank's friends, seeing this, stood up from their tables and made their way towards the two of them, hands on their holsters. The rest of the bar patrons were getting antsy as well.

Chifuyu pushed Ichika forward, "Ichika, go now. Take Laura out and meet us back here after a couple of hours. We should be done by then."

"R...Right." Nodding quickly, and praying to whatever God there was that nobody would get seriously hurt, he grabbed Laura by the hand and dragged her over to the exit. This was going to be the last time he ever visited a bar.

* * *

"Ichika, shouldn't we go back to the bar already?"

"It's only been half an hour."

Just after the two of them managed to get out of the bar, the sounds of falling tables and gunshots rang out. Oddly enough, no one in the street even gave it a second glance or quizzical look. It was as if they were used to it.

After barely managing to avoid the brawl, he explained the situation to the recently recovered (from what?) Laura. Surprisingly, she accepted the explanation without any suspicion or further questions. With that finished, the two of them took to exploring around the town for anything to distract them.

Much to his relief, Laura's mood seemed to have improved ever since the little incident earlier. She was no longer scowling constantly and she didn't even ask questions as to why he was holding her hand. It was only because he wanted to make sure neither of them got lost, not that her skin was soft or anything.

"Does it really have to be 2 hours? I'm sure I could be of some help there."

Ichika sweatdropped at her muttering, "I'm sure you would, but I don't think she wants to cause any unnecessary damage to anyone. That place looked really expensive."

"By the way, what happened to my knife?" Laura asked him.

"Oh, she took it earlier when she saw Mr. Joshua get threatened by that guy, " She gave him a questioning look, "It happened while you were staring at the wall for some reason. I think you should find a new knife if you get the chance. Weapons she borrows tend to break...lot."

"What? But that was my best knife! The foregrip was especially built for someone of my build and the blade could cut with the smallest touch. Oh, why did I have to take that knife out today? I really should've gotten one of the older one's instead."

Was a knife really that important to her? She acted like she lost the only remaining picture of her family left or something as drastic. It wasn't like a knife couldn't be bought with a new one- Hold on, that gave him an idea.

"Hey, Laura could you stay here for a second?"

"Why?" She gave him a quizzical look and her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I haven't gone to the bathroom since earlier and I really go t go. Guys and girls don't go at the same time here, do they?"

"D-D-Don't be stupid!" Her face blushed red, she shook her hand off from him and looked away, "Just don't take too long. I don't like being in the open like this. It feels like I'm going to get attacked at any second."

Giving his confirmation, he turned from the side path and made his way around the corner. Instead of making his way to the bathroom, however, he doubled back and made his way to the stalls and vendors from earlier.

Ever since they'd gotten out of the bar, people started emptying out of the streets, the vendors included. It probably had something to do with the sounds of thunder that echoed near constantly the past half hour along with the slight drops of rain that were beginning to fall. He just hoped that the guy was still there by the time he- Yup, he was.

The vendor looked absolutely miserable. No one had bought anything from the shop the whole day and he was getting desperate. At this rate, he wouldn't be eating anything tonight again.

"Excuse me, how much for this knife?"

...Was someone talking to him? No, it must be his imagination. No one would be stupid enough to buy anything from him. Why did he think it was a good idea to set up shop in a remote place like this? He should've listened to his mom and taken that delivery boy job.

"Um...I'll just leave about...200 euro's here. That should be enough, right?"

He didn't reply, convinced it was just some kind of illusion his desperate mind was playing on him. With a last glance at him, Ichika made his way back, pocketing the knife in the process. Thankfully, it was a retractable knife, so he didn't have to worry about getting his leg cut up. Good thing Chifuyu told him to pack his money just in case.

Great, this was perfect! Most girls would want chocolates or flowers as a present, but Laura wasn't like most normal girls he knew. To start with, most girls wouldn't be stressing so much about losing a knife. Alright, it looks like things were finally starting to go his way.

*KA-TOOM*

...He really shouldn't have said that.

The sound of thunder boomed louder and the clouds, already a dark shade because of the time, turned even darker. The light drizzle had turned into an all out rain shower with harsh winds accompanying them. How the hell did the storm come so fast? It was just barely drizzling a few seconds ago. He didn't have time to think on that now, he had to go and get back to Laura.

"Laura!" The wind made it hard to see anything and his clothes sticking to his body made running a pain, but he managed to find her without too much problems. She'd moved from her previous position and was taking shelter under a small canopied bench sticking out of the side of a building.

"Where were you!" She yelled as he made his way under the canopy and out of the rain, "You told me to wait for you and I got wet because of it! You better have a good explanation."

She was right about that. She was soaked from head to toe, and her hair currently came down to tangled wisps. With some degree of nervousness, he also saw that her shirt was wet and practically see-through. One of the downsides of wearing white clothing was that they practically became transparent after a little water.

He shook the water out of his hair before answering, "You think this is my fault? How the heck was I supposed to know that a freak storm would hit! I'm not psychic or anything." He scoffed.

"How long does it take one guy to go to the bathroom? It usually doesn't take 7 minutes to- Wait a minute," Uh-oh, she was getting scowly again. "You didn't go to the bathroom, did you? Tell me what you were doing or you'll...you'll regret!"

Despite her childish threat, he knew perfectly well what she was capable of whenever she got angry. He needed to change the subject, "I'll trade you an answer for an answer. Tell me something and I'll tell you something." He quickly blurted out.

"Fine, but you have to go first!"

"How do I know you're not just going to storm off once I tell you? No, it'll be better if I ask first and then you ask second."

"I could ask you the same question. How do I know you won't just run after I answer what you want to know?" She replied back, full of suspicion.

"I'm not stupid," He pointedly ignored the 'oh really?' stare she gave him, "You're the super soldier here, not me. If you don't answer, the best I can do is try to force you, which will most likely end with me getting hurt very painfully. If I don't answer...well, let's just say I don't think my bones can bend very well."

She took a moment to think about it. He did make a good argument, and what he did must have been extremely personal if he had to do this little trade with her for it. After much deliberation, she agreed to his terms. She couldn't see any way this would backfire on her.

"Okay...tell me why you kissed me."

...Except that. Damn it. With everything that was going on, she had completely forgotten about that little (yeah right) incident.

She had to refuse it, "N-N-No deal, ask something-"

"No way!" He stood up and placed his arms at her shoulders, looking her in the eye, "I need to know why you did it. I know you Laura, you're not the type of person to do something like this without a good reason."

"You-You don't know me!" She denied hotly.

"Yes I do! I know you better than anyone else at that camp!" He looked away, unable to look at her shocked expression, "I know you try to make it seem like you're the perfect soldier, and that there's nothing more to you than that. But I've seen how you act and there's something else there, something that shows me that you're not just some stone cold experiment like you try to make it seem like you are. I want to know your reason."

"I can't tell you!" She bit out angrily.

"Why not? There's nothing stopping you from-"

"Because I don't know why I did it!"

The lightning that boomed in the background would be an accurate description of Ichika's reaction. He let go of her shoulders and slumped back into the seat beside her, his water matted hair hiding his expression from her.

"What do you mean you don't know?" His voice was laced with disbelief, as if he couldn't understand what he had just heard.

"That's...exactly it." She said lamely, "Ichika, I may not be a clone, but I was raised as a soldier. I can explain to a general how to ricochet a bullet at 100 yards, but this...this is something different. I can't explain it and whenever I think about it my head starts aching and something my heart starts beating so fast I'm surprised I'm not getting shot at."

"...Let's narrow it down then: How do you feel about me?"

"That's a difficult thing to answer. When I look at you, half of me is screaming that you're pathetic and that I shouldn't bother wasting my time with you. That I would better spend my time training by myself and that you're only slowing me down." She answered honestly.

"And the other half?" He hesitated to ask.

"That I should be glad you're here. That there's been no one else who's ever tried to get close to me no matter how much I push you away and that I should appreciate that. That I should trust you because, no matter your flaws, you've given me no reason not to. That I should ignore what protocol tells me and make my own decisions about you."

It was pathetic. She was pathetic. Why was she so confused? Everything about her life, down to the smallest detail, should've been set the day she was bo- created. Now she was having second thoughts about everything. She was a failure both as a person and as a soldier.

"Laura...I'm sorry." He suddenly apologized.

"H-Huh? No!" She looked at him with surprise and shook her head dejectedly, "You're not the one at fault here, I am. I won't let you take the blame for-"

"Not for that," He held his left hand out and cupped her chin gently, raising her head up to meet his, "For this."

She didn't have to ask what he was going to do. In a couple of seconds, the distance between them shortened and their lips met for the second time that night. Despite the fact that the two of them were soaked to the bone with water, and that their clothes clung to their body like uncomfortable leeches, the kiss was no less perfect.

She could've fought him off, but she didn't. The same euphoria that had spread all over her body the first time she kissed him re-appeared again. The kiss was gentle and soft, nothing like the one she had done to him earlier. She wanted more.

Just as she was about to deepen the kiss, Ichika pulled away and looked away, face dyed red.

"Sorry about that, I couldn't help myself..." He managed to say out breathlessly.

"It's...alright." Her face was steaming, a far cry from the lower key blush that Ichika sported. She couldn't admit it to him, but she wanted to push it deeper. One half was winning over the other, and she didn't like it, "Ichika...we have to stop doing this." She forced herself to say, "I'm a soldier, so I'm not used to these kinds of things. This...kissing and relationship stuff is a complete mystery to me."

It was the honest truth. Making friends, let alone lovers, was something completely alien to her. The closest thing that came to camaraderie for her were helping any allies she had during combat situations, and even then she was taught to leave them behind if they compromised the mission.

"...And what if I said I didn't care about that?" Ichika gave a small smile at her look of indignation.

"D-Didn't you hear me! It-It won't work out, it never will! You're better off forgetting that this ever happened and looking for someone else."

"I'm saying that I'm willing to try!" She jumped slightly at the intensity of his voice, "If Chifuyu-nee taught me anything, it's that I should try to work for something if I really want to appreciate it. It might not be the best right now, but it'll get better as long as the two of us try!"

She couldn't believe this, but she was actually considering it! This was an attack! An attack on her sanity! That must be it! She had to take this slowly and carefully.

"A-Are you sure about this? I'm not sure it'll work out if we-"

He held her shaking hands and leaned in closer again. She thought he was going to kiss her again and unconsciously puckered her lips in anticipation. He didn't. Instead, he went even closer and pressed his mouth close to her ear, so close that she could feel every breath he took.

"I'm sure."

When...When did his voice get so seductive? She was starting to feel lightheaded and every breath just clouded her head even more.

"O-Okay." She tried to keep the redness from her face, "I...suppose we can try it for now. But-But we stop when I say we do, got it!"

"Crystal clear," Ichika smiled and placed his hands in his jeans pockets, taking out the small knife he bought earlier and holding it out to her, "Here, this is for you. To answer your question: I was out buying this earlier when I said I was going to the bathroom. You seemed really sad that your knife was gone, so I went ahead and bought you a new one."

Laura inspected the offered knife and inspected it carefully. The hilt was made of dark leather with golden lines at the edge. The blade, which normally retracted into the hilt, was crescent shaped and had jagged spikes at the outer edge. The size was just perfect for her and the retractability would allow her to hide it if she needed it.

"It's...beautiful." She commented awkwardly.

"Haha, think of it as our official 'going out' present." Her face flushed crimson again when she heard the heard 'going out'. That's right, Ichika was her B-B-Boyfriend now.

"H-Hey, I said that we stop when I say so! Th-This isn't permanent or anything!" She asserted.

This was just a temporary thing. Once he saw she was more trouble than she was worth, he would declare his surrender and she would have to accept it. She knew this couldn't last forever, nothing did. She'd give him a week or two before he decided to call it quits.

"Whatever you say." She was going to assert it again till his hands cupped the sides of her face and pulled her closer, "Now, where were we?"

In the meantime, there was nothing stopping her from getting the benefits of this temporary relationship.

* * *

**Omake:**

The bar was a mess. Tables were flipped over, bottles of drinks lay smashed on the ground, and the bodies of drunk patrons were in various positions throughout the floor. The bartender from earlier picked up one of the bottles and looked at it distastefully.

" God damn it, Joshua, I told you not to make any trouble!" He scowled and dumped the moonshine in the waste bin, "You told me that saving those tribal's on Zion International park was the end of it. I didn't get out of New Vegas just so I can get roped into more fighting around here."

" Do not use the Lord's name in vain," Oh, he really wanted to smack that bible out of his hands, "To answer your question, Courier, would you rather I let that girl get taken? That she be sacrificed simply because you didn't want to gather attention to yourself?"

That lecture rang hollow considering he was sitting next to the woman from earlier, Clarissa, and didn't even look up from his own bible.

"That's not what I'm saying and you know it." He grunted slightly as he picked up one of the knocked out cops and tossed him out the front door, "You could have just knocked him out without performing your little 'Implacable Man' act. Seriously, getting shot in the head just makes everyone curious and antsy. By the way, stop calling me Courier! We've known each other for a year now and you still haven't called me by name at all."

Joshua shrugged, "I needed to give him fair warning before I attacked him. Was it not you who taught me that patience and mercy came before fighting?" Oh no, he was using that against him? Come on! "And the reason I call you Courier is because you are both the messenger and the message. To call you anything else would be disrespectful."

'Courier' raised his hands up in annoyance, "You know what? I give up. Have fun with your date and everything. I need to sit down for a minute or 5."

He couldn't see his lips, but he could swear the annoying little mummy was grinning as Clarissa scooted closer to him and giggled. What did girls see in people like that? Were over religious sharpshooters all the rage now or something?

He sat down at one of the few upright tables and placed his arms on his head, sighing. The damages to the place wouldn't be too expensive, but he'd have to close up shop for at least a couple of days to fix everything up and replace all the alcohol that got smashed. Still, it beat running around a wasteland trying to solve everyone's problems.

"Is Clarissa going to be okay with your friend?" Chifuyu wiped her blood soaked hands and sat down next to him, "I really didn't believe her when she said that he could get shot in the head a few times. Guess I was wrong." She shrugged.

"She'll be fine. Joshua may not be the most normal person, but he's a good guy deep...really deep down."

The two of them stayed quiet and stared at their two friends 'romantic moment'. Neither of them felt very happy since they had to do most of the fighting on account of Clarissa being too drunk and Joshua opting to kill everyone who attacked him. They really needed to get out of here.

"Hey, want to leave them alone?" Chifuyu asked him.

He was about to say no till he saw Clarissa start to unwrap the bandages on Joshua's face; that caused him to do a full 180. Well, that and increase his urge to vomit.

"Sure, I know a good place to eat around here. Let's leave the two...lovebirds alone."

* * *

**Longer than most chapters, but I didn't have much of a choice. This is the milestone chapter since the end is coming now that their relationship has advanced.** **As mentioned before, the next chapter will be filler fluff now that they're officially Boyfriend/Girlfriend.**

**Wish me luck!  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's the fluff chapter:) This chapter sees a return to romance and humor...hopefully.**

**MaRv3n054 - He's also my favorite playable character:) Unfortunately, Spectre sounds like a creep (I can see...everything!) and Beltway looks like he'd be a stereotypical thug due to his build (Seriously, he looks kinda square). Vector was the only choice for the scene. The only other option was HUNK, and there was no way I was putting him through any of that shite. He probably would've massacred everyone on the base, destroyed all their IS', and then kill Chifuyu on his way out:( Nobody messes with HUNK. William Birkin must've had a deathwish or something.**

**rm928 - I made this story when I was still addicted to New Vegas:) As such, I made some additions since I recently played Honest Hearts. The Courier is no one unique: He helped the NCR take over Vegas (After personally putting Caesar's head on a pike:p) , then got the hell out of dodge while everybody was too busy celebrating to ask him to do more random quests. Joshua came to visit him once he managed to start up his bartending business (after spending a crapload of caps making it). He did keep ED-E with him to serve as a bouncer. :D**

**UraniumSpoon - And if this was realistic, there would be no way for Ichika to survive even a quarter of the abuse he normally takes and be dead before volume 2. I'm not really looking for realism in the story, if the previous chapter's short shooting scene didn't show that enough. Anyway, thanks for the heads up all the same. I already know how to do proper CPR since my sister's a nurse and taught me how.**

**On a side note, I'd just like to remind everyone who reads that references to other forms of media shouldn't be taken seriously. There's no way the world of Fallout: New Vegas or Metro 2033 can mix in with the world of IS, so it's best not to think about it too hard. **

* * *

It was a good day for all. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the smell of freshly moistened leaves permeated the air. Everyone inside was happy, cheering as they all held hands and sang around in a circle while the animals chirped a beautiful melody all around them-

Oh wait, wrong story.

It was the perfect day at the base. The barbed wires were glistening, coated in a thin sheet of blood freshly taken from its unfortunate victims. The smell of burning rubber permeated the air, most likely due to the burning tires that occupied the leftmost part of the base. Even the freshly put up spikes were bent over, as if a colossal weight had fallen on them and made them tip over. Maybe it had something to do with the reason Blair was running around crying for medical attention.

Anyway, that wasn't important now. What is important is the fact that everything was back to normal. All the recruits were doing their basic training, alternating between helping and patching each other up during training. Most of them didn't care about their injuries, however, but rather on gossiping about their youngest member's budding romance.

Most of them couldn't believe their eyes when they found the new couple going into the barracks, both holding hands as if they couldn't believe what they were doing. They distinctly remembered Laura's face being as red as a tomato while Ichika had a gigantic grin on his face. While some of them felt heartbreak and jealousy at the sight, it didn't stop them from wishing the best for the happy couple. They knew Laura as the super soldier Ice queen who rarely showed emotion, so any sign of her being genuinely happy was met with joy on all of them.

Besides, Laura never said they had to stop messing with her boyfriend, right? There were still plenty of opportunities for them to have fun. Like stealing his clothes when he came out of the shower or installing a waterproof camera at the specific stall he used.

They even did the ceremonial "girl talk" all teenagers did after their friend (whether she would admit to that title or not) and kept Laura up all night. Ichika was allowed to sleep and even encouraged to put on earplugs so he wouldn't eavesdrop, a suggestion he had been happy to take considering he was practically ready to drop dead at that point. Laura felt that way too, but every attempt to get to her and Ichika's shared bed was met with a stonewall of her comrades that refused to even budge. And so, she was forced to spend all night in her wet clothes (They'd allowed Ichika to change, but refused to give her time to do so in their haste) while sleep kept gnawing at her.

Anyway, back to topic. It was a good day for all and all of the recruits were happily doing their training, ignoring the various injuries they received on the spikes, barbed wire, and various other implements. They were still energized from their talk with Laura since they had taken shifts in order to talk to her better. The first half talked to her about her new love life, while the other half talked to her about various other things. As a result, none of them felt that tired.

...Actually, there was one problem: Two of the recruits were missing. Normally this wouldn't be anything odd; sickness or skipping wasn't uncommon in the unit. What worried them, however, was the fact that it was the newly made couple that had disappeared on them.

Laura wouldn't get up off the bed no matter how hard both she and they tried pull. Her whole body was burning up and most of her body was red. The stereotypical symptoms of a fever or a cold.

They weren't stupid. The new couple with a lot of sexual tension just so happen to be absent on the day after they got together. Yeah, it was a complete and utter coincidence and there was nothing bad happening at all. The girl just happened to get sick right after he and Ichika kissed? Yeah, and all of them were donkeys.

* * *

Laura was a super soldier. Not only that, but she was very well known as both a competent recruit and a practical one. When she had a broken leg, she hopped across the obstacle field on one foot and still managed to beat everyone else. When she felt pain all over her body due to internal injuries, she took a few shots of morphine and still managed to beat everyone in the simulation game. Heck, when she went into that nuclear bombed metro station in Moscow, she managed to kill every mutant in there with nothing but a knife and a few sticks of dynamite.

Though that 20 year old Russian, Artyom, managed to beat her out in total kills, which was extremely embarrassing given that he had no combat experience and was a completely normal human. She was still slightly sore about that. Nevermind the fact that he was using weapons that looked like it was made out of pipes and rotten wood along with a knife that had nails for brass knuckles. It was a complete and accidental fluke that he managed to beat her out.

That wasn't important! What was important is that she was a strong individual who refused to let either injuries or pain stop her from doing what needed to be done. She was always capable of doing anything once she put her mind up to it.

So why in the hell was she in bed with a head cold?

"Here Laura, ahhhhhnnn~" Ichika smiled and pushed the spoon full of hot soup towards her mouth, a gesture she replied with by refusing to open her mouth. Had she been able to she also would've pushed the spoon back to him and end up dousing him on his own soup, if only to wipe the self-satisfied smirk he had on his face. It wasn't like he could help it: Seeing the ultra strict and somewhat violent super soldier sitting on a bed with a constant red face and a pair of (borrowed) loose pajama's sent his heart a flutter.

Seeing as she was sick, Ichika had taken on the sacred role of being her caretaker for the day. He was well versed in taking care of people when they got sick; a trait he had picked up after constant years taking care of Chifuyu, Houki, and even Rin. Besides, if he could treat his high strung older sister, Tsundere childhood friend, and Yandere childhood friend with almost no problems whatsoever, how hard could taking care of his girlfriend? It was going to be a cakewalk.

Answer: Extremely hard.

Laura was a lot of things. Strong, versatile, and a careful strategist were the most common terms you would hear. But those weren't her biggest traits. On the other hand, there was one thing - one thing - that stood above all of her military strength, pragmatism, and super soldier-ness.

Pride.

Being who she was, she was extremely proud of herself and her accomplishments. Moscow Metro incident notwithstanding, she was the best in just about everything: Close Quarters combat, War strategy, and Gunplay. This also included the tendency to never get sick no matter what. When her teammates got sick with the flu last year all at the same time, she was the only one who managed to completely avoid the sickness and continue her training. As she liked to think to herself, 'disease feared her, not the other way around'.

Which is exactly why she found her current predicament akin to a slap in the face.

"Ichika, I'm-I'm fine!" Laura did her best to keep her blushing down, "I just need to get up and do some stretches, and maybe some sparring and combat practice, and I'll be fine."

"No way," Ichika shook his head in refusal to the absurd suggestion, "You're staying in bed today and letting me take care of you," He pushed a hand atop her head and placed some light pressure on it, keeping her down onto the bed, "Just relax for just one day and let me take care of anything you need. One day of no training won't kill you."

"Yes it will! Lack of training leads to an unfit body, and a body without much movement eventually atrophies and rots away down to the bone," She shuddered at the mental image she received, "I'll die if I don't go out there and do my regulated training! At least let me do my regular 50 lap run around the base and the flaming obstacle course that was sent in recently. I've been told it has a zero percent success rate, so I wish to prove them wrong."

_'...Is she serious?' _Ichika sweatdropped at the overdramatic rant his girlfriend (He was still slightly in shock he could refer to her like that) was giving him. Has she never had a sick day in her life? Or if she did, did she ignore it and continue training? That must've been a pain, "Alright Laura, you've convinced me. If you can get up from the bed without any help at all, then I'll have no choice but to let you do whatever training you want."

"R-Really?" Ichika gave her a nod and a small smile, "Then I'll be getting up now. I can't wait to see if the new knife works on those spikes- Eh?" As she made her way to get up, she felt herself still on the bed's soft surface. What was happening?"

"What's wrong? I thought you were going to get up?"

She found the problem: Ichika's hand was still on top of her head, and her weakened limbs could do little against the additional weight on top of her head. She placed her hands under it to try and take it off, but her weakened state didn't allow for much other than jilting it slightly.

"Ichika...move your hand," Her request was simple and very reasonable, but the fact that she sounded like she wanted to hurt the receiver very, very painfully if HE didn't comply made it extremely unnerving.

Ichika held strong, "But that would mean I have to expand effort to help you, which breaks our agreement and shows that you can't get off the bed without any help. It shouldn't be too hard for someone who can do 50 laps."

"Wh-What are you- Quit it!" She tried to remove his hand again, but it didn't even move an inch this time, "Damn sickness and disease! Aren't bullets and fatigue enough of an annoyance already!? Why must I be put under this damn curse of an affliction?"

"Laura..." Ichika sighed and removed his hand from atop her head, "If you can't even move my hand, what makes you think that you can do 50 laps around the base or even an obstacle course...that's on fire. You know, I still don't get the point of setting a metal spike pit on fire."

"...I'll be fine..." She replied in her 'I'm going to collapse any second now from exhaustion' voice.

"Sure you will," Ichika rolled his eyes, "Listen: I'm going to go get some medicine from the supply box and a couple of towels to cool you off a bit. Just relax for now and stay in bed till I get back, alright?"

"...You just want to kiss me, don't you?" She didn't bother even getting surprised when she found Ichika stiffening slightly, "I knew it! Heh, go ahead and kiss a sick person. Kiss a sick person and get sick when you get infected..."

Ichika for his part looked aghast at the suggestion, "I don't want to kiss a sick person! I'll get sick, and then you'll be the one who has to take care of me. And trust me; you won't like having to take care of a whiny person like me," She gave a disbelieving look at his explanation, "Besides, even if I wanted to kiss you right now - which I don't - I'm more worried about myself!" He shivered overdramatically, "I didn't tell you this earlier but when you get sick, you look kinda sad and pathetic and ugly-"

He dodged the thrown pillow that was aimed for his head. Despite her previous weakness, it appears she had enough strength to throw projectiles at him. He completely held his composure and didn't even have the slightest urge to pee in his pants when he heard the pillow smack against the metal and the distinct sound of said metal being bent inwards forcefully. Couldn't she tell he was obviously joking?

"Ugly, huh?" Laura gave him an angry glare, "Well then, I guess kissing should be put on hold even after I get better. After all, I wouldn't want to torture you with the thought making contact with someone who's ugly and pathetic."

"Now, now..." Ichika held up his hands to try and placate the sick girl, "You're speaking gibberish and nonsense again." He stood up and made his way to the door, "Look, I'll try to get some more solid food while I'm getting the meds. In the meantime, try to drink the soup and then get some beauty sleep while you can...though I'm not so sure how much the beauty part will apply in your current condition-"

He didn't bother ducking against the second projectile thrown against, but rather run as fast as he could against the door and use it as a shield from the impending doom.

*BAM*

Once again, he didn't even feel the slightest urge to pee himself when the imprint of what looked suspiciously like a pillow imbedded itself just a couple of inches from his head. It was probably just his imagination. Yup, just his imagination.

Well, time to get those supplies for the sick princess.

* * *

"And then...he was gone..."

Chifuyu sighed for the umpteenth time that day as she heard her old friend 'reminisce' about her experiences with the weird bandage mummy. She told her - she really did! - that getting involved with a guy who was rumored to have been thrown off by the Grand canyon while on fire was a bad idea. The entire trip to the two, she told her to think her actions through and to be careful about basing a crush on something she read about in a shoujo manga.

And now what?

Joshua was gone, disappeared to some far off canyon (Probably going to try jumping after he covers himself in spikes instead of fire this time) and left Clarissa behind. Chifuyu had to admit that she expected this to happen; seriously, the guy talked about leading tribals and teaching them to defend themselves from enemies. Did Clarissa really expect him to stick around after he said that?

Chifuyu was at least glad that Joshua confirmed that he didn't have sex with her. Other than the fact that she was happy that the images of...'that' (Seriously, how would that even work?) were proven false, it at least proved that he wasn't the type to 'fuck and go'. Still, now he had to deal with Clarissa's whining about lost love.

"Clarissa, seriously. You knew the guy for a few hours, and I was with your for most of them. I went to get something to eat that 'Courier' guy for 2 hours, which is probably the only time you two actually spent alone, and now you're pining like you lost the love of your life?" Chifuyu resisted the urge to sigh again as her friend nodded, "Seriously? Clarissa, real life isn't a romance manga and things like this happen all the time. You're better off moving forward and making sure you base your next choice on something more than something you saw in a manga."

Clarissa didn't reply, but the pained sobs (Seriously?) had finally stopped. It seems that she finally managed to calm down and think about how stupid she was being.

"...Says the one who managed to get a date from last night."

Or maybe not.

"Date? What the hell are you talking about?" Chifuyu demanded, "If you're talking about that guy from last night, then you're mistaken. We just went to get something to eat to leave you two alone... not to mention I really didn't want to see you and him start your little PDA. It was either that or I see you two, so I chose the other."

"Then why do you have his phone number?" Clarissa challenged back.

"..."

Shit, she had her there, "He gave it to me in case I needed help with something. He said he used to do work as a Courier and jack-of-all-trades kind of guy a year ago, and he gave me his phone number so I could contact him if I had any problems I didn't want to deal with." Chifuyu explained truthfully.

"Really...?" The suspicious stare Clarissa was giving her made it obvious that she didn't believe her. Why were they even talking about this? They needed to focus on Laura's little deadline since the experiment would be taking place in just a couple of weeks. Having her get into a relationship was both fun and amusing, but they needed to discuss what they needed to do next. With Ichika as another anchor, maybe she could find the will to reject the experiment and live through it. If she remained just a soldier, then the results would be unpleasant for everyone.

"Look, I'll call him right now and ask about Joshua if we could just drop this and start talking about the upcoming experiment. That should also prove I'm not going out on blind dates with him. Do you agree?" Clarissa nodded rapidly in response, "Alright, hold on a second..." Chifuyu fished into her pockets and pulled out her phone before dialing the recently added number.

It took a few seconds of ringing, but eventually the line picked up.

"Hey, are you there?" She received no reply. Double checking the phone, she confirmed that the receiver did in fact pick up, "Hey, I wanted to ask you some questions about that friend of yours," Again there was no reply from the other side. Chifuyu felt a vein pop on her forehead, "I can't tell if you're ignoring me or you're just being an ass, but you should-"

*BOOM*

Chifuyu nearly dropped the phone at the sound of the loud explosion. She checked around the area quickly and prepared in case of any possible attacks. But there was nothing; no gunshots, explosions, or attacks, at least not around her. The source of the sound was something more compact: Her Cellphone.

"Did your phone just explode?" Clarissa gave her a questioning look.

"Yeah..." Chifuyu nodded and placed the device back into her ear, "Hey, are you there? Are you hurt or anything?"

Another few seconds of silence before she finally received a reply, "Hey, is this Ms. Orimura?" The distinctly male voice was familiar, "Sorry I couldn't answer earlier, I'm a bit busy here- Artyom, shoot that sniper on the train!" The distinct sounds of bullets being fired and a scream followed the demand, "Anyway, I'm kinda busy right now, so can you make this quick? We're on a really cramped rail car, so shooting while talking is kind of- Oh for God's sake, just use the grenades! We really don't have to worry about conserving ammo now, do we?"

More explosions, bullets, and screams echoed out from her phone. If Chifuyu wasn't Chifuyu, she might have gotten worried that the person at the other end was in trouble. Being a Mondo Grosso champion who regularly received threats had its advantages.

"I was going to ask you about your friend Joshua, but it sounds like you're busy right now. Now I'm more interested in what exactly you're doing." She commented in an unnaturally calm tone.

"Joshua? He said he was going back to Zion park to help those tribal friends of his. Anyway, he said he wouldn't be back for a while and that I should give his apologies to that friend of yours," There was another pause as more gunshots fired, "As for what I'm doing. Long story short; me, Artyom, and his friend Kahn are trying to get into a Russian Nazi prison train to break out a prisoner I know nothing about because I owe Artyom a favor. Nothing beyond the usual."

"Uh-huh..." Chifuyu actually found herself agreeing with him. She herself had agreed to teach a group of teenage German girls both army training and how to pilot IS', completely ignoring the fact that this was most likely illegal and various human rights groups would be suing this place once they found out the age of the participants, all because she owed a favor to the German Military command, "Well, I'll leave you to it then."

"Wait. Actually, I need a favor- Hold, place the phone off your ear, " Chifuyu did so. And not much after that, the sounds of explosions and twisting metal reverberated from the phone, "Sorry about that. Khan shot a railcar in front of us. Anyway, I need your help with something."

Intriguing, "What about?"

"Artyom needs somewhere to stay once this little thing's over with, so he's staying with me for a bit. Thing is I don't know the area very well apart from the small town. That friend of yours from last night was a local, right? Think she can show him around? I'd do it myself, but I haven't updated my pip-boy for the area and- Jump, Artyom, Jump!"

The sounds of a train horn and a few grunts reached her ears before the line disconnected. Well, it seems like he was almost finished.

"So, what did he say?" Oh right, Clarissa was here as well. She almost forgot about her.

"Clarissa...how do you feel about Russian's?"

* * *

"I told you I'm fine!"

"And I told you that you need to let others help!"

Back at the building full of bunk beds, the new couple continued their pointless war for supremacy against one another.

"You didn't even eat the soup!" Ichika shook his head in disapproval and grabbed the now cold soup from the side table, "Here, it should still be healthy enough and it'll put your fever down if you drink it all in one sitting."

"No! I said I don't need it!" She pushed the spoon back towards him and, in the process, ended up spilling the contents against his lap, "See? I can push the spoon away now, which means I'm already getting better on my own."

Okay, his patience was getting shot! He did his best, anybody who saw what he did would agree, and stayed patient despite Laura's constant rebuttals, counters, and complaints. Laura was his girlfriend, and while he knew that she had her own little quirks, he refused to let that get in the way of her health.

He left earlier feeling optimistic, but that changed almost immediately when he came back to see her completely ignoring his advice and running around the bunkhouse like a chipmunk on caffeine. He had to tackle her and force her down into the bed to stop her from collapsing.

"Okay, let's skip the soup..." He grabbed the wet towel and wrung it a little bit stronger than needed. To his credit, he managed to keep his voice calm and on the level, "I'm going to put this on your head and it'll hopefully cool you off (in more ways than one)"

Much to his surprise, Laura actually complied with the order and allowed the wet cloth to be placed on her forehead. Maybe she was finally starting to realize it was stupid being so stubborn.

"Do you feel too hot or too cold? It may be a sign that your fever is getting worse if your temperature spikes up."

"Mmmn, not really," Laura shook her head weakly, "I'm actually getting better now. Maybe after you remove this cloth from my forehead I'll be good enough to finish my laps around the bunkhouse."

"...Not gonna happen," He ignored Laura's protests and grabbed the cloth from her head before dousing it again in water, "I said that you should stop training for at least one day, so I don't want to see any running, jumping, combat rolls, sparring, or whatever else you can think of." He gave her his trademark 'Mother hen' glare. Not even Chifuyu could talk back when he gave her that look.

"Just please rest for today. If not for you, then do it for me."

"...Fine..." Laura pouted off to the side and stuck her lips out in a completely unprofessional manner. Had she been more lucid, she might have realized how she was acting, "I think this is stupid and pointless, but if it'll make you happy I...I guess it won't hurt for me to follow it. A-A-After all, I'll be a failure as a girlfriend if I can't do something like this."

If Laura wasn't sick, Ichika would've been tempted to kiss her right then and there. The red face, couple with the adorable expression and the 'Tsundere' words, reminded him just why he put up with all her quirks.

"Okay then," Ichika gave a radiant smile, "I got some meds from the supply box that should cause the fever to go down, and I hear it works extremely fast. Just swallow the pill and-"

"No." She interrupted him with her usual flat tone.

...Had he misheard her?

"Um...Laura? Is the concept of taking medicine completely alien to you?" He shook his head in disbelief, "Even soldier's take their medicine and need first aid when they get hurt. Don't you remember that first aid training course we took yesterday? "

"I remember just fine, Ichika! I agreed to stop training and any other strenuous activities for today, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm a super soldier. I can deal with this just fine on my, given enough time and rest. The medicine is completely irrelevant."

Argh, just when he thought he was finally making some progress with her! Couldn't she stay sweet for more than a couple of minutes and make life infinitely easier for the two of them? It was like she was trying to rile him up on purpose.

He needed to reverse that logic somehow, "So you're saying that if your team rescues you from nearly drowning and you swallowed a lot of water, you wouldn't need CPR at all?" He had an idea. It was a crazy idea, and it would most likely bite him back in the ass later, but it was an idea.

"Don't be foolish," Laura harrumphed as if she talking to a child, "A disease is nothing compared to situational internal injuries like invasion of liquids. While I believe something like swallowing a pill is pointless and wastes resources, I can see the value of correctly done CPR-"

"Then open wide!"

Laura had no choice but to open her mouth as Ichika's hand shoved the black pill quickly against her lips. As she made to spit out the offending matter, she found herself blocked by the thing she both detested and craved at this point: His lips.

"Mmmph!" She pounded her small fists roughly against his chest, but the attacker refused to budge even an inch. The black pill was being pushed by her tongue away from her throat, with Ichika doing his best to make her swallow it. She could've pushed him off, she knew that, but a part of her didn't want him to. Just like earlier when he placed a hand atop her head, a part of her didn't want to go back to training and just let her take care of him. Evidently, that (annoying) part of her was winning out again.

She was ashamed to admit it, but she felt addicted to their little shows of affection. It was extremely unprofessional and sick, but it was true. The slight hugs and kisses they did had become an integral part of what she found to be extremely satisfying.

She knew she would win this match, however; her breathing time had been augmented to be longer than a normal human beings by a landslide. He couldn't use his mouth for a block much longer.

Ichika seemed to realize the exact same thing. It was time to take it to the next level.

"!?" Laura's eyes widened as she felt his tongue snake his way into her mouth and try to push the pill backwards. It was a battle for domination, a battle in which Laura found herself losing. She was used to CQC, long drawn out battles, a battle where she used every advantage she had. In this particular field, she held no advantage whatsoever.

Neither of them knew how long they held that position. Laura because she had gotten lightheaded and dizzy from the feeling of the intimate contact, Ichika because he found himself lacking severely in the oxygen department the longer it continued. Eventually, however, the black pill found itself entering Laura's esophagus and the two of them separated.

As the two of them separated, a thin string of saliva formed a sort of bridge between their lips. Both of their cheeks were also dyed red, though whether it was due to embarrassment, lack of breath, or both was a mystery.

Ichika took a deep gulp of air, relishing every little amount of oxygen that passed through his lips, "...That wasn't exactly how I thought I'd get to tier 4, but I'll take what I can get..." His words carried joke and mirth, but his voice lacked the usual cheerfulness and emotion it usually had. He did his best to ensure their contact was minimal, so he wouldn't get sick, "I'm sorry about that, Laura. You can yell at me or beat me up later if you want, but I need to take a breath first and-"

Laura didn't let him finish before she grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him forward, taking him in another deep kiss, "Wei, wauwa (Wait, Laura!)" He shouldn't be kissing her! She was sick and saliva was the most common way for sickness to be transferred. He would get sick at this rate.

Again, Laura ignored him and pressed the kiss deeper. He didn't like it? Tough luck. He shouldn't have tricked her like that and taken the next step without her consent. 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'. This went double when said woman - though she was really more of a girl - was a super soldier capable of feats of extreme strength.

Summoning all his adrenaline, he finally managed to pull his amorous partner off him and regain his breath. He could feel his cheeks warming up again, but he had a feeling it was more than him being embarrassed by her actions.

"Wait, Laura...we need to take your temperature," He rummaged through the table and pulled out the see-through rod, "Just open your mouth and- no kissing!" He backed away when it looked like the silverette made plans to express her affections again, "I was serious about not kissing while you're sick. Now, open your mouth so I can take your temperature."

Laura shook her head in refusal. Ichika felt a vein pop at her answer, "You already kissed me earlier, so what's stopping you from taking your temperature."

Laura mumbled something incoherently. Ichika had to get closer to make out her words, "...Mouth's kind of sore."

"Sore? What are you-" Realization dawned on Ichika's face, "You have a mouth sore, don't you? Hold on, hold on. If you had a mouth sore, why were you kissing me earlier?" Thankfully mouth sores weren't infectious, at least not as far as he knew, so he would be safe.

"...I thought it was worth it. A soldier is taught to take pain if it accomplishes a goal." She 'explained'.

Ichika sighed, "Well we can't take your temperature like this. There's another thermometer here, but ...I don't think you're going to like where I have to place it?"

"Why?" Laura's eyes looked genuinely curious, something Ichika had dreaded, "Is it anywhere fatal?"

"Well...no. Actually, it goes up the-"

Outside the bunkhouse, all the recruits stopped their assigned training at the sound of the loud scream that echoed from within. This was followed by the sight of possibly the oddest thing they'd seen in the entire time they'd stayed here.

A loosely clothed Laura running around barefoot with a panting Ichika right behind her holding a thermometer.

"Wait, Laura! I need to take your temperature!" He yelled after her, waving the see through utensil around like a weapon, "I promise it won't hurt!"

"You aren't getting anywhere near me with that thing!" For some inexplicable reason, she followed this with grabbing hold of the pajama bottoms and hiking them up straight to her stomach, "I said I'm fine, so I don't need that!"

The other girls just stared at the two of them as they continued to circle the base. They would never understand the thought process of a couple in love.

* * *

**Omake:**

Karma had an odd sense of humor, as Ichika found out the next day. Lying on the bed with a high fever, a part of him couldn't help but feel he deserved this outcome for using such an odd tactic to feed her medicine.

Laura couldn't help but smirk at the reversal of fortunes. Irony was so delicious, especially when it was in her favor. The others were out during practice and the two of them were the only people with

"Ichika~" Her overtly sweet tone caused a shiver to run down his spine. And it wasn't due to the cold, "First we're going to take your temperature, and then I'll have to do feed you the pill afterwards."

Sweat started to form at his brow when she brandished the thermometer and black pill, "Laura...I don't have any mouth sores...and I can eat that thing by myself." He helpfully reminded her.

Laura smiled and pushed the pill against his closed mouth, as if she didn't hear a single word he had just said. With her other hand, she skillfully started to pull down his pants despite his best efforts. If he was normal, he might've fought her off, but it was impossible in his current sick state.

"I know."

But Vengeance was too sweet to pass up, and it wasn't like it would be all bad for him. She had a feeling he would at least enjoy the second part.

She licked her lips slightly in anticipation.

* * *

**That's it for this chapter.**

**Next update - Infinite Stratos: Reversal or Future Imperfect. You guys decide.**


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